Collapsed
by adoreleo
Summary: Leo is still trying to deal with aftermath of Zoey’s kidnapping. This is a rewrite of a story Collapse that I started in Nov 2003. See authors notes for more details.
1. Part 1

Title: Collapse (1/3) rewritten

By: adoreleo

Rating: PG13 - Contains some language.

Characters: Leo, Margaret, Abbey and Jed

Spoilers: Anything up to and including Disaster Relief from Season Five of West Wing.

Disclaimer: The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they don't belong to me.

Beta & Additional Ideas By: Lynn, who always goes above and beyond the call.

THANKS!!!!

Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated.

* * *

Author's Notes:

The original Collapse was written and posted Nov 2003.The original Collapse was only five pages and it was only my second attempt at writing fan fiction. I posted the first part with every intention of posting an ending to it. But, several other Leo/Margaret stories demanded that I write them and they sidetracked me.

I'm sorry that I have left you hanging all these months. One of the main reasons why I didn't finish it was that I was unhappy with it. I originally wrote it in first person, but I have discovered that I'm much better at telling stories in third person, so I have changed it. Also, I have added a few things that I felt were missing. Hope you enjoy it. Part Two will be posted within the next few days. And needless to say, I wrote this long before any talk of Leo having a heart attack, but I decided to finish it and post it anyway.

* * *

Summary: Leo is still trying to deal with aftermath of Zoey's kidnapping.

Collapse (Part 1)

Autumn 2003

Margaret sits by herself, at her desk, waiting for Leo to come back from the Situation Room. She's been there for a while, thinking about the events of the past few months. She has known and worked for Leo for over thirteen years. He's a good and decent man who has spent most of his adult life serving his country and it has cost him dearly, both physically and emotionally. Over the years, she's seen him at his best and at his worst, but she has never seen him this distraught. For once, she doesn't know how to help him and even if she did know what to do, he wouldn't let her. As usual, he's hell bent on punishing himself for something he has no control over.

Margaret suspects that Leo still blames himself for Zoey's kidnapping. He hasn't said it, but Margaret understands him. She can see it on his face and in his actions. He always plays things close to the vest, but this time it's way past that. He's so close to the edge, and she's terrified that she won't be able to catch him if he falls.

Margaret has never before seen Leo panic, not until this past summer. When she witnessed him running past the Roosevelt Room, she knew that something dreadful had happened.

* * *

Summer 2003

The Secret Service Agents are running around like crazy in the White House and no one knows what is going on. Margaret suspects the worst and sits in her office impatiently waiting for Leo's return. Whatever is going on, she knows that he'll need her. When he finally gets back, he calls her into his office and motions for her to sit down in the chair adjacent to the couch.

"Margaret," Leo pauses, not wanting to say the words out loud. "Zoey's... missing... " Leo's voice cracks, his eyes are watery with unshed tears, "kidnapped, we think." He lowers his eyes trying to collect his emotions and then looks back up at her.

The trepidation in Leo's eyes and voice is almost too much for Margaret to handle. "Oh, Leo," she whispers back. It takes her only a couple of seconds to gather herself. She gets up from the chair and sits down next to him on the couch. "What can I do to help?" She asks as she places a comforting hand on his leg. They customarily don't touch each other in this manner, but this is no normal time.

Leo looks down at the slender creamy hand resting on his trousers and places a hand on top of it. He has no words for his assistant as he turns his eyes to meet hers. He gives her a soft sigh and gently squeezes her hand. They sit like this for a few precious seconds, and then Leo releases her hand and gets up.

"I need to get back to the Situation Room," he says quickly as he moves away from the couch.

"You have your cell?" Margaret gets up and quickly moves to his side and places a caring hand on his arm.

"Yeah," he reaches into his pants pocket to verify its presence. He stands there staring at Margaret, looking very bewildered and frightened. "Um... I need to a get back down to the Sit Room. He might need..." His voice drops off suddenly as a quick glimpse of Mallory's face crosses his mind. 'God what if it had been, her?' Leo thinks to himself, as his face grows pale.

"Leo, are you okay?" Margaret's concern evident in her voice and face.

"I'm... fine," he mumbles as he debates whether or not to call his daughter. He quickly decides against it and heads for the door. He abruptly stops, turns towards Margaret, "If Mallory calls, tell her... tell her that..."

"Leo, go. If Mallory calls, I'll tell her that you love her," she reassures him.

Leo smiles somberly at her in thanks and without another word, he hurriedly turns and is gone.

Margaret stands in the middle of his office staring at the empty doorway. After a few moments, she walks over to Leo's desk and picks up the picture of Mallory and her father, taken during last year's campaign. The man, who just left the office, looks ten years older than the man in the picture. Margaret brushes away a tear that slowly rolls down her face, as she places the picture back on the desk. She walks out to her desk, sits down and waits for his return.

* * *

During the first few hours of Zoey's kidnapping, Leo is running on pure adrenaline. He's been in and out of the Situation Room several times and each time he comes back to the office he looks a little older and more defeated.

The only time he's slowed down, any at all, is when he talks with Toby about his newborn twins. Margaret is sitting outside his office, trying to stay busy and not to eavesdrop. But, she hears the soft tone of Leo's voice, and she can't help but stop and listen. Leo's telling Toby that 'of course you're gonna be a great father, of course you're gonna love your kids the way you're supposed to.' The sound of Leo's concerned and caring voice makes Margaret shiver.

Margaret is one of the few people who knows the real Leo McGarry--the gentle, loving, compassionate man who deeply loves his daughter and his country. He has put his country first in times of war and peace. It almost cost him his life in Vietnam, and it did cost him his marriage and so much more in peacetime.

* * *

It's only been about six hours since Zoey's kidnapping. Margaret is sitting at her desk, hands fidgeting, waiting for Leo's return from the Situation Room. She knows that Leo is on his way back up to his office; because she received a phone call a little over ten minutes ago saying that he had left the Situation Room. Margaret has a secret support system though out the entire White House and pretty much knows where Leo is at any given time of the day. She keeps her informers well paid in cookies, and other home baked goods.

A worried Margaret checks her watch again and shakes her head in a disapproving manner. "Where is he?" She mutters.

Fifteen more minutes slowly past by and still no Leo. Margaret knows that he should have been back to the office by now. She gets up from behind her desk, walks into his dark vacant office, makes her way over to the connecting door to the Oval Office and peeks inside. Leo's not there either, but she continues on into the Oval. She walks over to the door that leads out onto the portico and finds him sitting on a bench, reading a small book.

Margaret stands at the bulletproof glass door and watches Leo for several moments, debating whether or not she should bother him. She takes in his image on the portico and doubts that she will ever be able to erase it from her memory. His shoulders are slumped, his usually immaculate suit is full of wrinkles and his glasses are riding low on his haggard face. He is leaning an elbow on a knee and holding up his head with a shaky hand and rubbing his worried creased forehead. She hasn't seen him look this tattered since, well since his days in the Labor Department when he was being fueled by alcohol and pills.

Breathing a leaden sigh, Margaret opens the door and steps out onto the portico. "Leo," she says in a soft voice as she moves close to his side. Leo is so deep in thought that he doesn't hear or see her. "Leo," she says again, her voice full of consternation.

She wants to sit down next to him, take him in her arms and comfort him. But that's not how they behave. She has done it before, but he was drunk or high and probably doesn't even remember all the times she comforted or took care of him in his dark past.

It finally sinks in that someone has been calling his name and is on the portico standing next to him. Leo slowly raises his somnolent eyes to the person standing next to him. He's not surprised to find Margaret, hovering over him. "Yeah," he weakly responds.

"Is there anything... anything at all that I can do for you?" She tenderly asks as she eyes him with even greater scrutiny now that she closer to him. The site of an unshaven Leo McGarry brings back some terrible memories from a night four years ago. When, for a while, she wasn't sure if she would ever see him alive again. The morning after the shooting at Roslyn was the last time she had seen Leo in need of a shave.

Leo removes his glasses and lays them down on the small leather bound book that he has been reading. Margaret's eyes follow his hand, and she sees what he's been studying so intently, before she interrupted him. She sucks in a quick breath when she reads the title, _The Constitution of the United States._

Leo raises his eyes back up at Margaret and breathes a deep sigh. "Yeah, could ya get Charlie for me?" He replies as he rubs his weary eyes and tries unsuccessful to stifle a yawn.

Margaret studies him closely for a couple of seconds. The lines in his forehead are more prominent than usual and his eyes are dull with pain. "Leo... would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Yeah," he answers distractedly, as he reaches for his glasses and the book by his side. He puts on his glasses and buries his head back into the book again.

Margaret returns after being gone for only a few short minutes. This time Leo hears the distinctive clicking of her heels on the concrete surface of the portico and looks ups immediately. "Charlie's on his way," she informs him as she hands him his cup of coffee.

"Thank you," he tells her, as he takes off his glasses, sliding them into the breast pocket of his suit coat. He accepts the coffee, takes a quick sip of it and then looks back up at Margaret.

"You should get some sleep," she offers with an apprehensive look.

"I'll sleep, when he sleeps," motioning with his head towards the Residence. Then quickly looks back at her. "But you should sleep for a few hours."

"I'll sleep when you sleep," she throws back at him with a pointed look. It's been years since she's been afraid to speak her mind to him.

Leo looks at her with a heartrending face and tells her, "Well this is gonna be interesting 'cause we're gonna have a small band of dedicated people who can't lift their arms."

Margaret gives him a tight-lipped smile and slightly bobs her head. She notices Charlie approaching and walks away. She goes back to her office, sits down at her desk and waits for Leo to need her again.

* * *

Only the senior staff is present in the Oval Office when the Speaker of the House is sworn in as President. Leo introduces the staff to Walken. After the President arrives, the staff starts to give their opinions about what they should be saying to the American public. Walken speaks up and starts telling this long story that nobody really cares about. President Bartlet tries to tell Walken that the staff had been up all night, but before he can finish his statement, Walken whips his head at the President and snaps at him. The staff is shocked. President Bartlet looks at his Chief of Staff for guidance, and a demoralized Leo stares for a few seconds at his best friend and then is forced to tell him, "You're relieved, Sir."

It doesn't take long for all the senior assistants to find out what transpired in the Oval Office when President Bartlet turned over the reins of the Presidency. When Margaret finds out about this, she more than most, knows how much it must have devastated Leo to have to say that to the President.

The mantra for all of the senior staff and the assistants is 'Leo will know what to do.' He's being so strong for everyone and putting the country first. He's not showing the Republicans any weakness. But, Margaret knows how this whole situation is destroying him. She's hovering more than normal, just in case he might need her. As always, she'll be here to help him sustain his indispensable role, even if he won't ask for help.

* * *

All the stress that Leo's been under is beginning to take its toll. Since Leo doesn't have anyone to take his frustrations out on, he's been using Margaret as his release. He's gruff and demanding when it comes to her. He accused her of hiding files on his desk, yelled at her because she let him sleep an hour longer than he told her, and accused her of being his mother. He's constantly yelling for something and she never seems to do anything quick enough to suit Leo.

Normally, Margaret would say something to him about his deplorable behavior towards her, but all she can do is offer him a smile, bite her tongue and hope that her being his scapegoat is to helping to ease his burden.

* * *

Thirty something hours into the kidnapping, Margaret approaches Leo about changing out of his tattered suit that he's been wearing for the past two and a half days. She had snuck off to his hotel and got him a change of clothes when he was out meeting with Angela.

"Here," she greets him, after he gets back to his office from the Situation Room at three in the morning, shoving his garment and toilettes bag into his hands. "The shower is that way," she smirks as she points towards the general direction of the locker room.

"Margaret, I don't have time to take a shower," he says, staring back at her.

"Leo McGarry, everyone else has found time to shower and change his or her clothes and most have even gone home for at least a few hours of sleep. Not that you would know what the word sleep mean anymore," She scolds, as she takes him by the arm and guides him out into the hallway.

"But they..." Leo stops when Margaret raises a hand and gives him her best squinty-eyed look.

"But nothing," she contradicts with a forceful voice.

"Margaret," he grumbles, surprised by her boldness.

"Leo," she persists, as she stands there staring him down with both hands resting on her hips. "You have Secretary Berryhill and the Ambassador from Qumar coming here in three hours for a meeting."

Leo nods his head and appears to be wavering towards giving up and heading for the showers, when Margaret makes her last point.

"Besides, Toby is starting to worry that your beard is going to look better than his," she teases with a smile as she folds her arms across her chest.

Leo's puckered brow relaxes, and the edges of his lips turn upward into small smile at Margaret's last comment as his reaches up to scratch the stubble on his chin. Leave it to her to come up with a comment like that. Something off the wall that would make him smile at a time when he needs it the most. "Okay," he relents. "We can't have the new father all upset now, can we?" He scoffs in mock anger.

"No, we can't," Margaret beams, having won the battle.

"Yeah," he responds in a deep voice as he slowly starts down the hall.

"I'll come get you if anything happens," she calls after him.

"Knock first, would ya," Leo smirks with a lopsided grin, stopping to look back at her.

"Uh... I will," she blushes. She's glad that Leo is far away from her to see the crimson that has crept over her face.

"Nice color there, Margaret. It goes really well with your red hair," Leo says with an impish grin on his face.

"Just great," she mutters as she quickly turns and goes back into her office. A smile crosses her face once she gets to her desk. She's happy to have given Leo just a small moment of fun.

Margaret's smile doesn't last very long as she thinks about the man that just left. She's really been worried about him since Zoey's kidnapping. As she watched him walk away, she noticed that his limp is getting more persistent and prominent. It kills her to watch him struggling to hide his limp. His inability to conceal his limp is a sure sign that he's not taking very good care of himself. He's only taken a couple of short naps and hasn't been eating much since the kidnapping. The only times he's eaten are when she stood over him and forced him to eat and then she had to listen to him grumbling the whole time about it. He's running himself ragged trying to please two Presidents, run the country, keep the senior staff from killing Walken's staff, and be there for his best friend.

* * *

After Zoey was rescued, Margaret thought that things would settle down and Leo could get some much-needed rest. He didn't leave the White House during the entire kidnapping incident, except for a middle of the night, covert meeting with Angela Blake. But, as usual, nothing ever seems to slow down around this place. As a matter of fact, the weeks that follow the rescue seemed to be even more draining for Leo.

* * *

When Leo gets back from the meeting, on the new security measures for Zoey's protection, with Ron Butterfield and the First Lady, he's very detached and looks lost. Margaret suspects that it didn't go well and that something had to have happened for him to be acting the way he is. He spends the rest of the day hiding out in his office with the doors closed.

After Margaret's third attempt to get him to eat dinner in the evening, Leo unravels. "Margaret I'm not hungry, now leave me the hell alone," he yells as he slams his hand on the desk.

Margaret quickly leaves, heading for her desk, where she buries her head in her hands and softly cries. She hasn't seen Leo act like that in years. Before, he had pills and alcohol to blame for his outbursts, this time Margaret's sure that it is a close and cherished friend who is to blame.

After a few minutes, Margaret gathers herself and goes back into his office to tell him she's going home. She finds him sitting quietly in his low-lit office in his favorite chair. The one that has his Air Force blanket draped over it and sits in front of the window. He has his fingers to his chin and is staring off into space. "Leo," she softly says, as she walks over to him.

Leo drops his hand into his lap and looks up at her. "Yeah," he sighs.

Leo's watery looking eyes shock Margaret. She has to fight the urge to go to his side and offer him her shoulder. "Um... I just wanted to... know if there was... umm... anything you needed before I leave?"

"Nah, go home," he replies.

"Leo," she hesitates, afraid to set him off again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... fine," he sighs. "Umm... sorry, bout before. Why don't ya go enjoy the fireworks," he struggles to say without letting the tears fall down his face.

"Okay," Margaret bobs her head and slowly heads for the door. She hesitates in the doorway and glances back at Leo. She can see that the tears have finally spilled from his eyes and are quietly sliding down his face. She leaves his office and slowly pulls the door shut. She walks to her desk and sits down. She decides not to go watch the fireworks, instead she will watch over Leo.

Leo's mood had been better after Zoey was rescued, but now it's deteriorating again. Later that night Margaret goes back into his office to check on him. She hears him whisper to himself 'he took the bullet for me again'. She sneaks back out of his office unnoticed. She can only imagine what took place in the security detail meeting this afternoon. But, one thing is for sure. The First Lady said something to Leo that has left him devastated.

* * *

Leo can be a very demanding boss at times and sometimes not the easiest man to work for, but now he is becoming down right impossible to work for. At least, that's what the senior staff thinks. Margaret knows what's behind his abruptness, but the staff is starting to question his motives. He is slowly losing it, and Margaret doesn't know how to help him anymore. So, she does as she has always done. She hovers, protects him and stays within the sound of his bellow, just in case he needs her.

The President, First Lady, and the senior staff are imploding and Leo's caught in the middle of it all and it's destroying him: The First Lady took Zoey away from the President; Will's leaving to work for the Vice-president; Josh's big screw up with the congressman; CJ's misspeaking to the Press. Leo's response to these problems has the staff starting to view him as a cold hearted son of a bitch. But, Margaret knows differently. Margaret wonders why the staff can't they see the agony that Leo's experiencing? He's drowning right before their very eyes.

The First Lady escaped to the farm and dragged Zoey with her. Rumor quickly spread that Abbey told the President not to come. The President is very short tempered, easily distracted and appears to be lost without his wife. Margaret heard through the grapevine that the President and First Lady aren't even speaking to one another. The First Family riff is weighing heavily on the President, and Leo is getting the brunt of the President's bad disposition.

Will Bailey has only been part of the Senior Staff for just a short time, but Leo likes what he has done so far. He's breathing new life into the communication staff and challenging the President and Toby. Leo doesn't want to lose that new spirit. But, the President agreed to let him go to the Vice-president and Leo is just too tired to fight him on this issue.

Josh's issues started during the kidnapping. His paranoid thinking was already causing problems with the Republicans and the Democrats. But, it was his cockiness that was caused the most tribulations. When the newspaper article about him came out, his head began to swell to epic proportions. He really believed what he read about himself and thought he could turn any congressman to his way of thinking. After he pushed the Democratic Senator, Chris Carrick, over to the Republicans, Leo had been forced to severely reprimand the man that he considered a son and it broke his heart.

Leo had given CJ the line about coal, but she had misspoken to the press. Leo had been trying to protect the President's popularity and save jobs in West Virginia when he omitted two paragraphs from the EPA's report. But, CJ wasn't going to let it go. When CJ brought in her revised statement, saying that she wasn't speaking for the White House, they ended up having a heated discussion with CJ quickly leaving the room.

Toby went to Leo right after Zoey's rescue. He wanted more responsibility and to help shape the President's message. He had been in Leo's face more than a few times lately. Toby isn't happy about Will's leaving and wanted to keep it from happening. That night out on the portico Margaret overheard Leo tell Toby that it was his job to protect the President and that he was holding everything together with scotch tape and bailing wire.

* * *

Autumn 2003

Margaret really is getting concerned about Leo's deteriorating health. He's lost a lot of weight, he's not sleeping and he's smoking again. His hand tailored suits are just hanging off of him. She's always fussed about his eating habits, but now she's so concerned that she has even started bringing him junk food, in an effort to get him to eat more. Even then, he just picks at the food that she brings him.

Leo has always been one to put in long hours, but at least Margaret thought he was going home at night and getting some sleep. But, she found out earlier this week that he has been leaving with her, going home for only a few short hours. Just long enough to sleep for a couple of hours, shower, change his clothes and then sneak back to work. It was by chance that she found out what he's been doing.

She wasn't spying on him, but now looking back she thinks that maybe she should have been. She isn't sure how she's going to approach the subject with him or even if she's going to mention it at all. But, she knows one thing for certain, she's going to be paying a lot closer attention to him and making sure her gets more sleep and more to eat, even if she has to stand there and force feed him herself.

Another thing troubling Margaret is that Leo is smoking again. He quit smoking after he got back from rehab. She's afraid if one old habit is back, others might also return. She wants to give him hell about the smoking, but he's gone though so much lately that she doesn't have the heart to scold him. Leo appears to be so bewildered and so vulnerable. She just can't make herself add to his anguish. She senses that something bad is going to happen, but she doesn't know what or how to stop it. All she can do is be there and hope that is enough for now.

* * *

Yesterday had been another stressful day for Leo. As always, he's trying to stage-manage an undisciplined White House through what he would say is a difficult time except he hasn't experienced an easy one yet.

The President is still pretty much befuddled since Zoey's kidnapping and Leo is still propping him up and trying like hell to get him back into the game. But, the President is still running away from his problems or still searching for himself, depending on how you look at it.

The first thing to hit Leo's desk that morning is the issue of two small countries that are fighting over a piece of rock, whose only inhabitants are goats. Another problem for Leo is that the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense are not playing well together.

The President is off in Oklahoma preoccupied with a killer tornado. Leo opposed CJ's plea that it would be good for the President to go survey the damage in Oklahoma from the tornados. Leo requested that CJ have him back in six hours, but it was soon evident that the President's compassion was overruling his good judgment, and they weren't going to be back any time soon.

A worried Leo has several crises back at the White House that need the President's immediate attention, but he has been getting nowhere with him on the phone. Leo spends the entire day putting out fires, dealing with upset Democratic leadership that are still livid with Josh's major screw up, tax cut issues with the Congress and so on and so on. Leo finally goes home sometime around three in the morning.

* * *

When Leo arrives to work this morning, Will meets him in the lobby hallway with news that the Vice-president is unhappy and that Leo needs to talk to him. Then Margaret joins them as the move past the bullpen. She informs him that the Chancellor isn't happy about having his meeting with the President moved back. When Leo opens the door to his office, he finds General Alexander there waiting for him with more bad news about the island. "Margaret," Leo bellows.

Margaret comes rushing into the room from her area, which is no small feat since she had just left Leo in the Oval corridor outside his office. "Get me CJ," Leo gruffly demands.

"Again," an exasperated Margaret asks and immediately gets the patented 'what the hell do you think' Leo look. She bobs her head and quickly disappears to make the call.

After the General leaves, Leo's walks behind his desk, stands there for a second and then looks off to the side. "I should have never gotten out of bed this morning," he sighs.

"Well, first of all, you have to go to bed, before you can, you know, actually get out of it," Margaret scolds, after entering his office without his notice and overhearing his flippant remark.

"Go do a job, would ya," he smirks.

"CJ on one," she says over her shoulder as she quickly leaves his office.

Soon after that, Leo disappears to the Situation Room and that's when Margaret had sat down at her desk and started thinking about the past few months. She knows that she has to get him to slow down and start taking better care of himself. She fidgets with things on her desk, waiting for Leo to return.

* * *

Leo comes rushing back to the office and the rest of his morning goes about the same. One thing after another keeps coming up, and he's constantly hollering for Margaret to get him the President. By lunchtime, he's so drained that he just stares at the food that Margaret's sat down in front him. He rubs his eyes and leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. He can't remember ever feeling this exhausted before. Maybe Margaret is right; maybe he does need to start getting more sleep. "Yeah, right," he breathes out; more sleep would imply that he was getting some to begin with.

Margaret walks into Leo's office and hopes to find him eating his lunch, but is surprised to find him resting his eyes. She walks over to the front of his desk. "Leo," she stops when he jumps in his chair. Leo must have been half-asleep already, because her voice startles him.

"Yeah," he mumbles.

"You don't have anything on your schedule until later this afternoon, so why don't you lay down and take a nap. You look so... tired, Leo," Margaret's voice tails off at the end.

He snaps his head up and gives her a pointed look. "I'm not tired or in kindergarten, so I don't need a nap," he gruffs between yawns as he rubs his eyes, looking every bit the part of a tired toddler.

Margaret can't keep a smile from her face, as she watches Leo make his own case against him. "Well, why don't you just lay down and rest for a few minutes instead of giving yourself whiplash in your chair," she softly smirks.

"Maybe," he yawns, as he watches her walk over and close the blinds on his windows. "I guess I am... a little tired," he relents.

"I promise to wake you in two hours," she says, walking over to turn off his desk light.

"You better not let me sleep longer than two hours this time," he stresses turning his eyes to meet hers. "Or there will be hell to pay."

"Leo," she smiles, staring at him still sitting at his desk. "Do you need me to help you find the couch?" She smirks with a wicked grin.

"I'm not that old yet," he grumps as he slowly gets up and reluctantly makes his way to the couch. He lies down, and a painful groan escapes his mouth.

Margaret follows Leo to the couch and notices a grimace of pain cross his face as he lies down. She grabs his Air Force blanket from his favorite chair, covers him up and gives him a gentle pat on his shoulder. "Sleep tight," she whispers, walking over to the remaining light in his office and turning it off.

"Thanks, Mom," Leo sarcastically grins as he relaxes deeper into the couch.

Margaret smiles back at him, slowly closing the door and leaving the room now in total darkness. In only a few short seconds, Leo drifts off to sleep thinking about how lucky he is to have 'his' Margaret.

* * *

For the next two hours, Margaret sits at her desk, catching up on work and guarding Leo's door. He had received a few phone calls but nothing important enough to wake him. 'He's had a rough couple of days, well weeks, actually months that have strung into years,' she quietly thinks to herself. Oh hell, he's had too many rough times for any normal person to withstand, she decides.

Margaret looks at her watch; it's been exactly two hours. She debates about letting him sleep a little longer, but decides it not worth getting Leo all riled up about letting him sleep too long. Plus he will never trust her again and she's hoping to work more naps into his busy schedule.

Margaret knocks on his office door and enters, carrying a cup of coffee. "Leo," she says, moving to his desk and turning on the desk lamp. "Leo," she repeats, walking over to his window and opening the blinds.

Leo slowly sits up and incoherently mumbles something. Margaret looks at him and is surprised to find that he actually looks worse than he did before he went to sleep. She moves closer to him. "Leo, what did you say? Are you okay?"

He repeats whatever he said before, but his words are slightly slurred. He puts a hand to his head and rubs it, like he is in pain. He gets up off the couch and sways. He takes a step forward and that's when it happens. He collapses.

Margaret tries to get to his side before he hit the floor, but she doesn't make it in time. "Leo!" She screams, watching in horror as his head slams onto the edge of the coffee table and then he falls the rest of the way to the floor.

Margaret rushes to his side and checks to see if he is still breathing. His breaths are shallow, and his pulse is racing. He has a huge gash on the side of his head and blood is pouring from it.

People come rushing into Leo's office after hearing Margaret's scream. Margaret looks up from Leo's still body, "Someone call an ambulance," she yells as she grabs his Air Force blanket and presses it to the side of his head, tying desperately to stop the bleeding.

A terrified and tearful Margaret sits beside Leo on the floor, pressing the blanket tightly against his wound with one hand and holding his hand with the other, while whispering, "Leo, it's going to be okay. Help is on the way."

Margaret keeps talking to Leo the whole time that she's waiting for the medics to arrive. She doesn't even realize what she's saying to him. She just keeps whispering in a soft calming voice over and over again the same things. Tying to reassure him and mostly herself that he's going to be okay.

When the medics arrive they start an IV, hook him up to oxygen and quickly load him into the awaiting ambulance. At the last second, Margaret remembers Leo's health proxy and shoves the paperwork into her purse. Margaret runs after the medics and jumps into the back of the ambulance without waiting to be invited. There's no way that Leo's making this trip alone.

Once they get to the hospital, they won't let Margaret go into the trauma room with Leo. She sits out in the waiting room for what seems like forever, staring at her blood soaked clothes. Finally, a young doctor comes out to the waiting room. "Mrs. McGarry?" He assumes.

"No, I'm his assistant," she blushes as she gets up and walks over to him. "He's divorced, and his daughter is out of the country," she informs him.

"I really need to speak with a family member," the young doctor persists, looking around the waiting room.

"Won't I do? I've..." an upset Margaret asks.

"I can't be discussing his case with just anybody. You're just his secretary," the doctor snidely interrupts and then he starts to leave the waiting room, but Margaret gets in his face and stops him.

"Excuse me, but I have worked for Leo McGarry for over thirteen years and..." she hesitates, trying to regain her composure with this young doctor. "I'm the closest thing to family that he has here right now, and I need to update the rest of his extended family, which by the way includes the President of the United States. So please tell me what's going on with him."

"I don't care who you know or work for, I still can't discuss Mr. McGarry's health with you without his consent," the young doctor informs her.

"But I..." a frustrated Margaret argues, and then it hits her. She has his health proxy paper work in her purse. She's been so worried about Leo, that she forgot she had it. She grabs the paperwork from her purses and shows it to the doctor.

"Why didn't you show me this to begin with?" An equally frustrated doctor asks, as he takes the paperwork and verifies that Margaret is the one who's entrusted with Leo's care.

"I'm sorry, but I've been a little bit upset every since witnessing the person that I..." Margaret stops herself; she almost admitted her deepest secret to this jackass doctor. "It was upsetting to see Mr. McGarry fall, and I guess I just wasn't thinking clearly."

"Well, this seems to be in order," the doctor says as he hands the paperwork back to Margaret. "We've ruled out a stroke or a heart attack. We believe the reason he became disoriented and passed out after he woke up is from a case of severe exhaustion. His blood pressure is low and he's very dehydrated. But, these aren't the reasons why he was still unconscious."

"He's still unconscious?" Margaret quickly looks at her watch. "It's been over three hours since he fell," she adds as she starts to wring her hands.

"That's not usual in cases like this. When he fell is when the real damage occurred. The wound to his head is more deep than long. It took two layers of sutures, a total of fifteen stitches to close it up."

Margaret takes a sudden intake of breath as she flinches at the sudden memory flash of Leo's head bouncing off the coffee table. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We'll know more after he wakes up. The impact from hitting the coffee table caused a hairline skull fracture and a concussion, the CT scan shows some slight swelling but the swelling could possibly worsen over the next seventy-two hours; he'd need to be monitored closely during this period of time for any changes in his condition. As far as the exhaustion, his body will get the rest and nutrition it needs while his brain heals."

The doctor goes on to describe the treatment that Leo has already received and will be getting over the next couple of days. Margaret just stands there bobbing her head and taking it all in, trying not to cry. She's almost in a daze when the doctor finally finishes.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to see," the doctor informs her.

"When can I see him?" Margaret asks.

"They are moving him to ICU right now. Visiting times are very restricted there. You can see him for fifteen minutes every hour at fifteen till the hour. He can only have one or two visitors at a time."

"Thank you," Margaret says as she moves out of his way. Margaret stands there for a few seconds and processes the information she's just received. The reluctant doctor had been very matter of fact, to Margaret, as he spelled out Leo's condition and treatment that he'll be receiving. It took ever being of her fiber to stand there and listen. She wants to rush to Leo's side and comfort him, even if he would have no idea that she is there.

Margaret finally gets a hold of herself and heads for the lobby. She has several phone calls to make.

* * *

Margaret debates on whom to call first. She finally decides to call the President. He's now is aboard Air Force One with CJ, and they'll be back in DC within the next two or three hours. The President has been AWOL in Oklahoma, but he is now finally coming home. The President was very upset when he found out about Leo and promised to come to the hospital as soon as he could.

Next, Margaret calls the First Lady. She'll probably get here before the President. 'What will I say to her when she arrives?' Margaret thinks to herself. She wants to berate the First Lady for how she hurt Leo, but Margaret knows that the First Lady is probably feeling very guilty about what had transpired between her and Leo. Their conversation is very strained, but Mrs. Bartlet does seem upset and concerned about Leo's status. She asks several medical questions that Margaret can't answer. The First Lady says she'll be there as soon as she can.

Her next call is to Josh. He has to stay at the White House and make sure that the world doesn't come to a complete stop. He's very sweet to Margaret on the phone and tells her that he'll be there as soon as he can and that he'll let the rest of the staff know about Leo.

Margaret stares at the phone receiver in her hand. Her last call is going to be the hardest and the most draining. Mallory is on vacation in Europe with her mother. She quickly calculates the time difference. It is late evening there; so Mallory is probably done sightseeing for the day and in her hotel room. She might already be in bed. She looks up the phone number in her PDA and slowly dials it.

It rings three times, before someone answers it. "Hello," answers a sleepy voice.

"Mallory," Margaret softly says, thankful that Leo's daughter answers the phone instead of his ex-wife.

"Margaret, what's wrong? Is Daddy okay?" Mallory demands, knowing that Margaret wouldn't be calling unless it was something really important or something bad has happened to her father.

"Mal... he's... he's in the hospital..." Margaret divulges.

"What happened?" Mallory interrupts as she throws the covers back and jumps out of the hotel bed.

"He was taking a nap and I umm... I woke him up, he seemed disoriented and he... he collapsed. When he fell, he hit his head on the coffee table."

"Margaret is he okay?" Mallory demands as she stretches the phone cord as far as it will go, so that she can grab her suitcase from the closet.

"He has some stitches, a hairline skull fracture and a concussion. He's still... unconscious. But, the doctors seem to think he'll be fine and should wake up within the next twenty-four hours. They have him in ICU, monitoring him, until he wakes up and his blood pressure comes back up. They say he collapsed from exhaustion." Margaret feels guilty about him being so fatigued; she thinks she should have taken better care of him.

"Margaret, I'm taking the first plane home." She has her suitcase on her bed, and rummaging through her drawers.

"Mallory, I really don't think your dad would want you to do that." Margaret turns and leans against the wall, rubbing her forehead with her free hand.

"I don't care what he'd like. I'm..." She stops and plops down on her bed and starts to cry.

"Mallory I know you love him and want to be with him, but why don't you give it twenty-four hours. If he isn't awake by then, well, then maybe you should come home, but he wouldn't want you ruining your vacation."

"I don't know. I want to be there for him. How can I enjoy my vacation knowing that Daddy's...?" She softly cries into the phone. She's been so worried about her father since Zoey's kidnapping. She just knows something's been bothering him for a while, but he keeps denying it.

"I know you want to be here for him, but there's really nothing you can do for him right now. I can only get in to see him for fifteen minutes every hour."

"Margaret, I don't need to tell you he's been through so much. He always holds everything inside. Has... he said anything to you?" Mallory nervously twists the phone cord. "He's not been the same since... Zoey's kidnapping."

"Mal, he hasn't talked to me or I doubt anyone about what happened to Zoey or anything else that's happened since then." Margaret looks up at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears from flowing from her eyes.

"I want to be with him," she says in an almost childlike voice.

"Mal, he wouldn't even know you were here right now and when he does wake up, he'll be upset and feel guilty, if you cut your vacation short because of him. You know how he is."

"I know, but... what if he..." Mallory stops, she can't even think of him not making it as a possibility.

"Mallory, he's going to be fine." Margaret isn't sure whom she's trying to convince. "He's going to wake up soon, and then he's just going to need lots of rest and believe me, he's going to get it now." She wipes the tears that refused to stay in her eyes.

"Yeah, I just bet he will. I'm sure you have a plan already," Mallory smiles a little at the fact that she knows that her father is in for it now. Margaret will be on his case more than ever now.

"Yes I do," Margaret just hopes she gets a chance for that and other things, too.

"Margaret, tell Daddy... tell him that I love him," Mallory softly requests.

"I will Mal and please try not to worry," Margaret shifts the phone to her other ear and sighs.

"I'll try, only because I know you're worrying enough for the both of us," Mallory teases her father's assistant and her friend.

"Has your dad been spreading rumors about me again," Margaret smirks and then softly laughs.

"Not rumors, just the plain truth," Mallory glances around her hotel room, making sure her mother is still out with her newest friend. She wonders what Howard, her mother's long time boyfriend, would think about her being out with another man. Maybe her mom isn't that serious about him after all. Howard was always around a lot when her father was out of town on the lecture circuit. He had been her father's law partner years ago. Mallory couldn't prove it, but she thinks they were might have been involved when her parents where still married. Mallory shakes her head at the thought and gets back to work on Margaret.

"Margaret... I umm... I know that you love him. I think its time you tell him." Mallory suggests.

"Well of course, I love your father," she laughs, biting her lip as she tries to keep things light.

"Margaret. That's not what I meant and you know it," Mallory hesitates and then decides to spell it out for her. "You're 'in love' with my father," Mallory whispers into the phone.

"Oh," Margaret breathes into the phone. She realizes there's no sense in trying to deny it, because Mallory would be the one person who would figure it out. "Well... it doesn't matter, he... he doesn't feel the same way and..."

"Yes he does," Mallory dares to tell her.

"Did he tell you that?" Margaret stands up straight and glances towards the ICU.

"No, but I can tell," Leo's daughter admits. She's suspected for some time now that her father is in love with his tall lanky assistant.

"How," she asks, lending back against the wall, brushing her fiery red hair out of her eyes.

"The same way that I knew that you were in love with him. It's in the way he looks at you. His eyes light up when you walk into a room or when he hears your name mentioned. I think he's cared for you deeply for a long time, but I think after the... divorce, he started to allow himself to see you in a different light." The younger woman confesses, as she lies back on her bed.

At first, Mallory had hoped her parents would get back together. But, she soon realized that was never going to happen. Her mother moved on quickly, too quickly if you ask her. Her mother loves her freedom and has dated several men since she divorced her father. She knows that her father feels terribly guilty about the divorce, and it killed him to find out she was dating so soon after their separation.

Mallory has always loved Margaret and knows that she would be a perfect fit for her father. She hates to admit it, but Margaret has always taken better care of him than her mother did, and she understands him better, too. Maybe Margaret would be able to pry that damn ring off his finger.

"Well, I think you're delusional. Leo could never fall for someone like me," Margaret shakes her head at the idea. She would give anything if it were true, but she knows it just a fairly tale dream. "He wouldn't think it was proper since I'm his assistant, plus I'm so much younger than him."

"I'm not, he has and what does age have to do with love? Do you know that you're in his will?" 'Ops,' Mallory thinks to her self. She really didn't mean for the last part to slip out.

"What?" Margaret asks.

"That's right," Mallory figures that the cats out of the bag, she might as well let her know all of it. "I'm seen the latest revision. You're getting a nice tidy little sum for someone he's not in love with," Mallory teases. She really wishes she could see Margaret's face right now.

"What is he thinking?" Margaret demands.

"He's thinking that he wants the person that he's in love with, taken care of, I imagine," Mallory suggests.

"Well, he has a lot of explaining to do when he wakes up," an incensed Margaret says, as she tries to pace the hall, not getting very far with the phone stuck in her ear.

"Margaret!" Mallory shouts into the phone, as she jumps up off the bed. "You can't tell him that you know," she begs. "I'm not even supposed to know."

"Okay," she agrees. "Mallory, I need to go. It's almost visiting time for the ICU. I'll call you after I know more or if anything changes."

"Okay. Should I tell my Mom?"

"Honey you do what you want," Margaret's glad that Mallory can't see the face she's making. Jenny McGarry hasn't been one of her favorite people for a long time now.

"I think Daddy would want her to know," she says.

"That's fine. Mal I really do need to go. I'll talk with you soon. Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

After Margaret hangs up the phone, she heads for Leo's room in the ICU. The doctor had tried to prepare her for what to expect and had given her a detailed list of the treatments that he would be receiving. But, she's still not ready for what she sees when she enters his room. "Oh... Leo," she gasps as she looks at him.

Leo looks so frail and small in his hospital gown. He's nearly as pale as the sheets. He's hooked up to several machines that are beeping and monitoring his vitals. He has two IV's, an oxygen mask, and they have inserted a feeding tube down his nose to provide him with Ensure for his poor nutritional status. His head had a large bandage on the side and there is some bruising on the same side of his face. The doctor had said that they had to shave a portion of the injured side of his head. 'Leo is going to hate this,' Margaret thinks as she continues to stare at him.

Margaret stands, for a long time, in the doorway to Leo's room. She's afraid to enter. She half expects him to bellow her name.

"Oh, what I wouldn't give if he would wake up and holler for me," she mutters under her breath.

Finally, Margaret regains her courage and walks over to the side of Leo's bed. She gently takes a hold his hand and she silently prays for him to regain consciousness.

Margaret hasn't been in the room for very long, when a nurse comes in. "You'll have to leave now," she informs Margaret.

"But... I just got..." she stutters.

"You can only be here fifteen minutes out of every hour, while he's in ICU," the nurse softly tells her. "You can come back in forty-five minutes."

* * *

Margaret loses all track of time and doesn't remember how many times she' been in and out of Leo's ICU room. While she sits in the waiting room, her mind is busy playing several scenarios over and over about what the future could hold. She wonders, 'if he appreciates that her whole world revolves around him? Does he have any idea what he means to me?'

Fear has kept Margaret from telling Leo the truth about how she feels. But after talking with Mallory, she wonders if maybe she should tell him. She's always loved Leo, but somewhere in the past couple of years, she fell in love with him.

During her next visit in his room, Margaret quietly moves to his bedside. Tears are falling freely and silently down her face as she brushes some hair off his forehead. She carefully bends over and places a gentle kiss on his cheek and then she bares her soul to him.

"Oh Leo, I love you. Please wake up. I need you to know how I feel." Her voice is full of love and concern. Her mind wonders, 'is it too late? Why didn't I say these things before this happened? All I can do now is wait'.

"I've been waiting for you for years. I guess I can wait a little longer," she whispers as she brushes her lips on his forehead and smoothes her hand down his chest.

Unbeknownst to Margaret a visitor is standing just outside the doorway and has witnessed this tender scene. Not wanting to interrupt, the person quietly backs out of the room and disappears down the hall.

TBC in Part 2

Feedback: Please let me know what you think.

If you want to read the original version of Collapse, it can be found under my user name here at 


	2. Part 2

Title: Collapse (2/3)

By: adoreleo

Rating: PG13 - Contains some language.

Characters: Leo, Margaret, CJ, Josh, Abbey and Jed

Spoilers: Anything up to and including Disaster Relief from Season Five of West Wing.

Disclaimer: The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they don't belong to me.

Beta & Additional Ideas By: Lynn, who always goes above and beyond the call. THANKS!!!!

Feedback: Is greatly appreciated and motivates me to write more! Thanks to those who have been so nice to provide feedback!

* * *

Part 2

Abbey and her Secret Service Agents enter the hospital's elevator. She immediately turns to them and instructs, "Remember this is a hospital, I don't want my visit to cause an uproar. Especially in ICU."

"Yes Ma'am, it won't. We already have an agent posted at Mr. McGarry's door, so we won't have to sweep his room," he informs the First Lady.

"Why?" Slightly upset that she isn't already aware of this, but more concerned that there might be some threat towards Leo.

The agents in the elevator exchange a quick glance between them. "The President ordered it, Ma'am. It's just as a precaution. There's been no threat, Ma'am," her lead agent explains.

"Okay," she turns, facing the door and stares at her reflection. She still hasn't talked with Jed since she found out about Leo, but then again she hasn't really talked with him for over a couple of months now. They speak on the phone occasionally, but it's usually strained and brief to say the least. Most of the time that Jed calls, she doesn't even talk to him, leaving Zoey to talk with her father. She hadn't planned on coming back anytime soon, but things are different now. No matter how mad she is with Leo, she never wished him any harm.

Abbey and Leo used to be the closest of friends, but little by little, since Jed took office, the distance between them has grown. 'Damnit, if I had been there, maybe I would have seen that he was driving himself into exhaustion.' But then again she thinks, if Margaret wasn't able to get him to take care of himself, nobody else could have either.

Abbey's worried about what condition Leo is going to be in after he wakes up. Margaret had told her that the doctor has indicated that the swelling of the brain is minimal, but when it comes to the brain, so much is unknown. At the very least, he's going to need constant monitoring of his poor nutritional status.

The elevator approaches the correct floor, and one of the agents speaks into his wrist mic, and then listens. "We have the all clear," he tells Mrs. Bartlet and the other agent in the elevator.

A nervous First Lady exits the elevator and heads for the ICU. Her agents stay a short distance behind her. She already knows what room Leo is in and doesn't bother to stop at the nurse's station. She approaches the door and sees Margaret by his side. She's about to enter the room, when she overhears Margaret's confession of love to Leo.

Abbey quietly backs out of the room and walks right into one of her agents. She quickly turns and looks back into Leo's room. Margaret doesn't seem to notice or hear the commotion in the hallway. Abbey's still absorbing what she's just overheard as she heads for the elevators. 'Margaret loves Leo? Now how could I have missed that?' She thinks to herself. 'But then again, I really haven't been around much these past few months.' She inwardly admits to herself.

Abbey only caught a glimpse of Leo, but she can't believe how thin, and frail he looks. He's lost quite a few pounds since she last saw him in early July. Looking back, she wonders what type of shape he had been in during their last meeting, well it was more like a one sided confrontation. Abbey had been too upset and driven to even consider how this whole mess had affected Jed, let alone Leo.

Abbey has never once taken into account the pain, and suffering that they have been going through. But now, she feels terrible guilty about holding a grudge for so long. She had been so hell bent on punishing Jed that she didn't worry or care about everyone who got in her way.

Abbey reaches the elevators and quickly hits the button. She doesn't have to wait too long before the door opens. Her agents escort her into the elevator. When the elevator reaches the ground floor, the doors open but Abbey doesn't move. "Ma'am?" One of the agents says as the other steps off the elevator.

"We're going back up," The First Lady announces as she leans over and presses the button. The agent who has already gotten off the elevator quickly steps back on before the doors close.

Once again, they step off the elevator and head for the ICU. On the way there, Abbey sees Margaret walk into the ICU waiting room. Abbey can tell by the look on her face that she's not happy about having to leave Leo's side.

Margaret is so deep in thought that she doesn't notice the First Lady walk into the waiting room. She is staring across the room rereading the restrictions on visiting patients in the ICU. "Stupid rules," she mutters to herself as she looks up at the ceiling, closing her eyes and breathing a worried sigh. The sound of someone's voice makes her flinch.

"How is he?" Abbey asks, as she approaches a worn out looking Margaret.

Margaret opens her eyes and looks at the First Lady. Without even hesitating she lashes out. "Why does he matter to you all of a sudden?"

Abbey is stunned by Margaret's brusque comment and tone. Normally, she would have retaliated with a similar comeback, but she knows that Margaret is exhausted and frightened. "Leo matters a great deal to me," she says with a raised eyebrow, trying to keep her voice even. "Why would you think that?"

"Doesn't appear that way to me from where I've been sitting these past few months from hell." Margaret stands up, puts her hands on her hips and stares down at the much shorter woman. She doesn't give a damn about how much trouble she might be in; she needs to get a few things off her chest.

"Margaret, I know you're upset and you're looking for someone to..."

"You're damn right I'm upset," Margaret says between gritted teeth, trying to keep her voice low. "He's lying in there because of that damn job. It's... it's destroying him, and nobody gives damn about it. And you," Margaret's voice raises as she points a finger at the First Lady, "are partly to blame for this. I don't know exactly what happened between you two, after Zoey was rescued, but I know something did."

"Margaret, it's been hard on..." Abbey doesn't get a chance to finish her sentence.

"Yes, it's been harder on some more than others. But do you know how guilty Leo feels? He blames himself for the whole thing. He's not said so, but I know he does. He's slowly... he's slowly killing himself. He's not sleeping or eating and he's smoking again. I'm so afraid that he's... he's gonna... drink." Margaret slumps down into her chair and buries her face in her hands as she starts to cry.

"Margaret," Abbey says softly, as she moves over to her. She knows that Margaret's outburst comes from her love for Leo. She understands the frustration from wanting to protect the ones you love. She also feels guilty, because a lot of what Margaret has just said has the ring of truth to it. "Some of what you have said is true, but you're wrong when you say I don't care. I do care. I know that lately, it's not seemed that way, but it's... been difficult for all of us."

Margaret looks up at the First Lady and her face drains of all color as she realizes what she's just done. "Oh, Ma'am. I'm so sorry. It's just..." she sobs.

"Shh... Margaret, it's okay," Abbey lays a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's very hard to not to lash out at others when someone you are in love with is hurt."

Margaret's eyes register shock as the First Lady's words sink into her misty head. She takes a quick breath, "How did...?"

"Margaret, I overheard you earlier in Leo's room." Abbey sits down in the chair next to her.

"Oh, I didn't think... I mean... I didn't realize anyone else was around," she blushes, dipping her eyes as her hands begin to fidget in her lap.

"Margaret, it's okay. I think it's wonderful," she pleasantly says with an approving smile trying to get Margaret to relax. "I can't believe I never noticed before."

"You weren't supposed to, Ma'am." Margaret looks back at the First Lady and is relieved to see her smile.

"This isn't something new, is it?"

"No Ma'am, it's not new," she softly confesses.

"When?"

"It's... complicated," Margaret sighs, thinking back to her earlier conversation with Mallory. It had been so much easier to talk with her. Mallory hadn't asked any probing questions and they've always been close and shared things. Telling the First Lady is another thing, because she has always intimidated her.

"I would imagine," Abbey agrees.

"It was during the... campaign," Margaret confides to her.

"Which one?"

"The first one," then quickly follows with, "But I've never acted on my feelings. Well, umm... I did tell him today, but he couldn't hear me," Margaret has a slightly panicked look on her face. "There's never been anything between us."

"Margaret, I didn't think there had been." Abbey quickly points out, trying to reassure her.

"I just didn't want you to think..." She says in a panic.

"Margaret, I didn't." Abbey softly smiles.

"Okay."

"During the first campaign?" Abbey says trying to get Margaret back on track.

"Yeah," Margaret bobs her head. "You know I've always loved working for Leo, well... the first couple of years were difficult, but even then I saw past his addictions. The longer I worked for him, the more I became... drawn to him," Margaret pauses and looks down at the floor.

"Margaret, it's okay."

This it the first time that Margaret has ever vocalized how this all started for her and she can't believe it's the First Lady that she is confessing it to.

"I had been working for Leo for over six years when he went to New Hampshire. That night, when he got back to the hotel, he was so excited, like a kid at Christmas. He came in yelling my name and pulled me into a big hug. It was wonderful. I felt so... so safe... and well I guess that's when my feelings for him really started to grow."

"You were with Leo when he came to talk to Jed about running for President?" Abbey raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Well, at first, Jenny was supposed to go with him, but something came up and she couldn't make the trip, so Leo decided I should go." Margaret face flushes a little as she continues.

"I had already booked them a two bedroom suite at the Marriott and when I tried to change the reservation to two separate rooms, they were totally booked."

"You two shared a room," Abbey says in a slightly surprised voice.

Margaret bobs her head, "Yes, but we had separate bedrooms." She quickly points out.

"Okay, go on," Abbey urges.

_Margaret's mind flashes back to that night in New Hampshire in 1997 as she tells the story to the First Lady. _

Leo comes bounding into the hotel room. "Jed's gonna do it," Leo announces with a huge smile, walking quickly over to Margaret, pulling her into a big hug and lifting her off her feet.

"Leo McGarry, put me down before you hurt yourself," a surprised Margaret demands, as she tries hard not to reveal how much she is enjoying being held in his arms.

"You're gonna have a lot of work a head of you," Leo informs her as he slowly puts her down and releases her.

"Hard work never hurt anyone; besides... I was getting bored with the lecture circuit. There really isn't enough work for me to warrant you keeping me on as your full time assistant," she confesses with a shy smile.

"Well... I wish ya'd have told me before, cause I would have given you more work or at the very least cut your salary," Leo smirks as he walks over the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of water. "Do ya want one?" He holds up a bottle of water to her.

"No thanks, as you can see I was just getting ready for bed," she says motioning at her attire.

"You mean you weren't wearing that earlier today?" He quips with a lopsided grin.

"No," she tries to say without blushing. That grin of his gets her every time. It's so sexy. She just wants to rush over and hug him.

"Okay, night," he heads for his bedroom, pulling off his suit coat as he goes. "I need to call Jenny and tell her the good news."

Margaret walks into her bedroom and closes the door. She sits on her bed and notices the phone line light up. It stays lit for only a few seconds, too long for a busy signal, but not long enough for a conversation. "Damnit," she mutters. She's glad that she isn't in the same room with him right now, because she's having to listen to some lame excuse he'd make up about forgetting that Jenny wasn't going to be home until late tonight.

For the past few months, Jenny hasn't been traveling that much with Leo on the lecture circuit. When he had first resigned from the Labor Department and started lecturing, she made most to of the trips with him. But after Jenny figured out that a sober Leo McGarry was a lot harder to manipulate, she stopped making most of the trips with him. That is unless it was to some big city where she could go shopping at only the best stores.

Margaret lies down on the bed and tries to go to sleep, but she can't. She can't stop worrying about Leo. She knows he's upset about Jenny not being home again late at night. She can't sleep so she gets up and goes to their adjoining wall and lays her ear against it. She can hear him walking around in his bedroom. She hears a thump sound from his room followed by a curse. The thump sounded like fist hitting something solid, and it takes every being of her fiber not to go knock on his door. She listens through the wall for a few more minutes, eventually, she hears Leo's mattress creak so she goes and gets in her own bed.

Margaret is still unable to go to sleep. She keeps thinking about the hug that Leo gave her. She loved how his arms felt wrapped around her, even if it were only for a few awkward moments. She closes her eyes and wills herself to sleep, but it still doesn't work. She lies there for over an hour trying to get to sleep. She is just starting to doze off when she hears something from Leo's room.

Margaret gets up, puts her robe on, walks over to Leo's bedroom door and listens against it. She hears muffed sounds coming from inside the room, so she cracks the door open and peeks inside. Leo is thrashing about in his bed and mumbling. She is about to go inside, when he suddenly wakes up and bolts upright in bed. She softly closes the door without him noticing and quickly returns to her bedroom.

Margaret listens at her cracked bedroom door. She hears Leo get up, and then watches him walk out into the living area. He goes over to the mini bar, opens the door, and stares at the contents. Margaret takes a silent intake of breath.

Leo reaches a hand out, hesitates and then pulls it back quickly. He closes the door and goes over to the refrigerator, gets a bottle of water, walks over to the couch and sits down.

Margaret walks out from her bedroom, "Hey," announcing her presence, so she doesn't startle him. He's always accusing her of trying to scare him to death.

"What are you doing up?" He asks, watching her sit down on the opposite end of the couch.

"I couldn't sleep," she divulges as she pulls her lanky legs up under her.

"There seems to be a lot of that going around tonight," he grumbles, and then he takes a long drink of water wishing that it were something stronger.

"Leo, your hand," she says when she sees the bloody knuckles on his hand that's resting on the arm of the couch.

"It's... nothing," he comments, as he briefly glances at it. "Don't worry about it."

Margaret gets up, moves to his side and takes a hold of his hand to examine it. "Let me clean it up." She lets go of his hand and hurries to her room, grabs a washcloth and gets the first aid kit that she always carries with her.

"Margaret, there's no reason to fuss," he complains her as she comes back into the room.

"Leo, you could have a broken knuckle," she lightly scolds him, as she takes his hand again and starts to clean it up.

Leo flexes his hand, "See, nothing's broken." He tries to pull his hand away, but Margaret won't let him.

"Leo, stop," she pleads with her voice and her eyes. She cleans away the blood and then puts some antiseptic on it.

"Hey that stings," he whines, pulling his hand away and blowing on it.

"Stop being such a baby," she grabs a hold of his hand and tries to put a Band-Aid on a knuckle that keeps bleeding. "Besides you were the one stupid enough to..." Margaret stops abruptly as her face turns red.

"Margaret," Leo cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow.

"Oh Leo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I shouldn't have..." Margaret stutters as she gathers up the first aid supplies, puts them back into the kit and stands to leave the room.

"No, you're right. It was a... stupid thing to do," he acknowledges, looking up at her and then lowering his eyes, staring at the ring on his left hand.

The sound of desperation in Leo's voice causes Margaret to sit back down, "Leo, do you want to talk about it?" She says, laying the first aid kit on the coffee table.

"I'm sure you've already figured it out. I called Jenny and she wasn't home." He confides.

Margaret tries to act surprised, "Maybe she's at a movie or over at Mallory's," she suggests.

"Yeah, maybe," Leo sees right though her. "But, you and I both know this isn't the first time that this has happened." Leo retorts. "It's not like I don't deserve this for putting her though hell the first twenty some odd years of our marriage."

"Leo, you're just jumping to conclusions. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason why she's not home right now," Margaret offers. She hates defending his wife, but she's doesn't want for him descend any lower into self-pity, possibly giving into temptation to have a drink. But in Leo's case, it wouldn't be just one drink. It would be several.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Leo agrees with her only because he doesn't want to talk about it anymore. He wants to be alone. He wants... he just wants to forget.

"Leo, why don't you try to get some sleep? I imagine we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and quite possibly for some months to come," Margaret says, trying to get him thinking about the Presidential campaign.

"Yeah, we do." Leo gets up off the couch and heads for his bedroom.

Margaret is still sitting on the couch, "Leo," she calls after him.

"Yeah," he softly replies, turning and folding his arms, staring at her though despondent eyes.

Margaret gets up from the couch and walks over to him. "It's almost been five years and I've seen you struggle... and well... I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you." Margaret softly reveals, laying a comforting hand on his forearm, wishing she could help ease his pain.

"Thanks," Leo utters, afraid to say much more for fear that he will break down. He unfolds his arms and slides his hand on top of hers and gives it a gentle squeeze as he stares at the woman who has really touched him with her heartfelt words. 'What I wouldn't give to hear those words from Jenny,' he thinks to himself.

"You're welcome," she returns, as she pulls her hand from his and turns towards her bedroom. "Good night," she says, as she reaches the door.

"Night," he manages to say with only a hint of emotion in it, as he closes the door.

_Margaret's mind fades back to the present conversation with Abbey in the waiting room of George Washington Hospital. _

Margaret hesitates before she continues. "I spent the rest of the night, sitting on the floor with the door cracked, listening for him. I was so afraid he was... going to... drink." Margaret admits, lowering her eyes in shame.

"Margaret, don't worry about it. I'll never say a word about it," Abbey says, then tries to lighten the subject "So, you realized that night that you loved him."

"Yeah, I mean he was just so cute in his pajamas, and he flashed that grin several times when he first got back from convincing the Governor to run for President."

"Yeah, that grin is something else isn't it? He deserves to smile a lot more than he does," Abbey agrees with a smirk. "Does anyone else know how you feel about Leo?"

"Mallory's figured it out. When I talked to her today, she informed me she knows and that I should tell him. She... she thinks that he feels the same way about me."

"So, she approves?" Abbey says with a smile.

"Yes," Margaret bobs her head.

"Then that's half the battle," Abbey says.

"What about Jenny?" Margaret whispers, thinking about that ever-present ring on his finger.

"She's no longer a factor. She threw him away." Abbey says bitterly. She too had heard rumors about Jenny and an old law partner of Leo's.

"But I still think he loves her and hopes that they will get back together when this is all over. Why else would he still be wearing that ring?" Margaret asks.

"I'm not sure why he still wears it. It's something that I've wondered to about too. But, if Mallory thinks he feels the same way, maybe you should tell him after he wakes up. You both deserve to be happy."

"I don't know if I can. Its one thing to tell him when I know he can't hear me," Margaret blushes.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Sometimes, people wake up and can tell you everything that's been said in the room while they were unconscious,"

"Really," Margaret squeaks. "You mean he might remember what I told him?"

"It's possible," Abbey replies. "Margaret, I'm gonna go check on him and see if I can get his doctor to come talk to me."

"Good luck with the doctor," Margaret frowns. "He's not very friendly."

"Well, we'll just see about that," Abbey frowns, as she stands and heads for the door. "I know someone here on staff that I want to have Leo switched to, anyway. I hope they don't give me a fuss about only family being able to switch his doctor for him."

"He doesn't need Mallory to do that. I have his health proxy and I would be more than happy to sign the paperwork," Margaret starts digging though her purse, finding the paperwork and handing it to the First Lady.

"Okay, great. I'll be back in a minute. Why don't you run and get coffee or something," Abbey suggests.

"I really don't want to be too far away from him," Margaret says.

"There's a machine down the hall," Abbey informs her.

"Okay," Margaret relents.

* * *

Abbey makes her way back to the waiting room and finds Margaret sitting there, staring at the cup of coffee sitting on the table next to her. "Margaret," she says, walking into the room and taking the chair next to Margaret. "I just talked with Leo's new doctor, Dr. Richards, he's an old friend, and he's agreed to bend the rules and let you sit in the room with Leo."

"Really," she breathes a small sigh of relief.

"Yes, come on let's go get you settled."

"Thank you Mrs. Bartlet. I don't..."

"Margaret, Leo needs you by his side now more than ever. It'll be the best thing for him." Abbey says as she guides Margaret back to Leo's room.

* * *

CJ leaves the White House around nine o'clock and heads for the hospital. It's been a long couple of days for her and she would love to be able to go home and fall into her bed, but she wants to go by and see Leo first, even if he doesn't realize she's there. She needs to see him.

CJ parks her car and heads for the ICU. She's a little nervous about seeing Leo this way. The First Lady stopped by her office earlier tonight and gave her an update on Leo's condition. CJ was glad that Abbey was back at the White House, but she wishes it had been under different circumstances.

CJ stops at the nurse's station and is pointed towards Leo's room. She finds Margaret sitting by Leo's bedside, reading to him. "Hey Margaret," she softly says, as she enters the room.

"CJ," Margaret face flushes, as she quickly closes the magazine and lays it on the bedside table. "I umm... thought he might like hearing a familiar voice."

"Margaret, I'm sure he does," CJ smiles, trying to put Margaret at ease. "How's he doing?" She asks, moving closer to the bed. She's shocked at the site of feeble looking Leo.

"About the same," she says as she stands up and moves to Leo's bedside and lays a hand on his bed. "They think he's still unconscious because of the exhaustion instead of his head injury. At least they hope that's the case."

CJ notices the pain and tiredness in Margaret eyes, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," she returns as she reaches out and smoothes the sheets on the edge of the bed.

CJ smiles at the patented Leo response. "You've been here since early this afternoon, why don't you go home and get some rest." CJ moves closer.

"I can't," she whips her head towards CJ. "He needs me." She reaches out and touches Leo's shoulder. "I don't want him to wake up alone."

"I can stay with him," CJ offers.

"No," she replies a little more forceful than she intended. "Um... it's my responsibility. I'm his assistant. I'll stay. But, thanks."

CJ stares at Margaret, the woman who's dedicated most of her adult life to the man lying in the bed. She's about to argue with her when it hits her. Margaret is in love with Leo. Why didn't she see this before? CJ inwardly smiles. "Well, if you won't let me stay, how about you go take a short break and I'll sit with him."

"I can't..."

"Margaret, Leo won't be happy if you make yourself sick, taking care of him."

"Maybe, but..."

"No buts," CJ informs her as she walks over and picks up Margaret's purse. "Go," she hands her purse to her. "I'll call you if anything changes."

Margaret hesitates, and then takes her purse, "I guess I could use a small break."

"I think the cafeteria is on the third floor," she tells the way too skinny woman standing next to her.

"I'll be right back," she says as she takes a quick glance at Leo, and then slowly she walks out the door.

"Don't hurry back," CJ calls after her.

CJ turns and walks over to Leo's bed. She stands there for a while staring at the man that has been her boss for the past few years. He looks so much older than he did a couple of days ago. She moves closer and notices the bruising and swelling on the side of his face and flinches. She lays a hand on his bed and breathes a heavy sigh.

"Well Leopold, it's hit the fan again. I didn't want to say anything to Margaret, but I actually had some ass of a reporter ask me if the real reason you collapsed was because you were drunk." CJ shakes her head in disgust.

"He said that he'd heard that there had been tension between you and Senior Staff and that you had been acting differently. Then he went on to say that your ex-wife is dating an old law partner of yours and that they have had an affair off and on for years, dating back to the first campaign."

"I just stood there, mouth open, so shocked that he would imply that you were drinking again. Finally, I regained my senses told him that the doctor's statement clearly explained exhaustion as the cause of your fall. I told him to take his seat, and then I moved onto the next question."

"Josh and Toby were waiting for him at the end of the briefing and pulled his credentials. At first, I thought Josh was going to hit him. When the President found out, he wanted him arrested on the grounds of stupidity. It took all three of us to calm him down."

Margaret is on her way to the cafeteria, when she hears Leo's name mentioned on the TV in the waiting room and stops to listen. She's appalled at the accusations that she hears. She wants to find that reporter and slap him. How can he get by saying stuff like that? Irate tears start to fall down her face as she quickly turns around and heads back for Leo's room.

"CJ," she says as she enters the room. "Why didn't you tell me about the reporter? How the hell can he get by with saying that?" He face is red with anger.

"Margaret, I didn't tell you because you have enough to worry about right now. I'm taking care of it. He's already lost his credentials and..."

"I just saw him on TV. He was saying that you're trying to cover this all up and that's the reason he lost his credentials. He says he has a source from the hotel that says there's a bottle scotch in his room." Margaret's face is now flushed with anger.

"Do you think he's drinking again?" CJ asks.

"No," Margaret declares, "I would know if he was," Margaret assures her.

"Then don't worry about this. The spin boys and I will take care of this so-called reporter." CJ walks over to Margaret and lays a hand on her shoulder. "It's what I do best. This guy is toast. Okay?"

Margaret bobs her head, but is still very upset. "It's just not fair. He's worked so hard. I see him struggling, and I want to help, but he won't let me." Margaret breaks down and starts to sob.

"Margaret, seriously. I will take care of this. Please try not to worry about it. I won't let him get by with dragging Leo's name though the mud."

"I just wish..." Margaret doesn't get a chance finish her sentence because a low moan comes from Leo and she rushes to his side grabbing his hand. "Leo, Leo can you hear me?" He doesn't answer, but his legs move a little. "Leo, it's okay. You're in the hospital. Leo can you here me?" Leo doesn't answer, and he stops moving his legs. Margaret grabs the call button and pushes it for the nurse.

"Yes," the nurse responds.

"He just moaned out and moved his legs," Margaret replies back to the nurse.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

The nurse enters the room and checks his vitals. "Everything looks good. His moaning and leg movement are good signs. It means he's trying to wake up. But, it could still take a few hours. He's just not going to wake up all at once. I'll be back in an hour to check on him again. Why don't you try to get some rest," the nurse tells Margaret as she leaves the room.

"Margaret, why don't you go get something to eat? I know you didn't have time enough before." CJ tells her.

"No, I can't leave him now. He's trying to wake up. He needs me."

"You heard the nurse, it's still going to be a while," CJ tries to convince her.

"No, I can't take that chance. I'm staying," Margaret says in a firm voice.

"Okay," CJ sighs, thinking that Margaret's just as stubborn as Leo. "If I go get you something to eat, will you eat it?"

"Yeah," Margaret relents.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Oh I forgot to tell you earlier. The President is coming by later. Ron Butterfield and he have been going around and around about this since we go back from Oklahoma."

"Yeah, Mrs. Bartlet called me earlier to tell me that the President is having some problems with Ron."

"Okay, well I'll be right back," CJ heads for the door, but stops and looks back at the two people in the room. Margaret is holding Leo's hand and talking to him in a soft voice. CJ's is sure that her earlier assumption is true now, after witnessing Margaret's reactions from the past few minutes. CJ can't help but wonder if Leo feels the same way. She sighs and heads off to get Margaret some food and wonders if she'll have to spin a story about the two of them, soon.

* * *

The President breathes a heavy sigh of relief as the motorcade leaves the White House grounds. He's finally on his way to see Leo at George Washington Hospital. He leans his head back, closes his eyes and tries to relax a little. But, his mind is quickly flooded with images and thoughts from the past few months. He berates himself for not realizing how everything has affected Leo. But then again, Leo has made himself scarce since Zoey's rescue or had he pushed Leo away. They've barely talked since the Josh incident with the congressman, and Leo wasn't happy that he had flown off to Oklahoma. 'God, I wish I had a cigarette,' he thinks to himself. The thought of a cigarette takes him back to a conversation he had with Leo a few weeks ago. He had walked out onto the portico and found Leo standing by one of the benches with Margaret and overheard their conversation.

"Leo, was the President out here smoking again?" Margaret waves the papers in her hand in an attempt to clear the air.

"Yeah," Leo lies.

"Why don't I believe you?" Margaret gives him her best squinty-eyed look.

"I don't care. Would you go do a job and leave me alone," Leo growls.

"Okay," Margaret bobs her head and quickly leaves.

Leo turns, faces the south lawn and pulls something from his coat pocket. Jed watches a flicker of light appear and then a puff of smoke bellows around Leo's head.

"Hey," the President says, as he moves next to Leo. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doin, Sir?" Leo gives him a glare. He's so tired of how things have been going around here for the past few weeks, and he's really tired of running the White House and the country by himself.

"Looks like... to me... you're asking for a lecture from Margaret," he comments, as he sits down on the bench and motions for Leo to join him.

Leo gives him a smirk, "What are you now? One of Margaret's spies."

"Whatever," the President snidely remarks. "It's your neck if she catches you with that thing in your mouth," pointing to the cigarette that Leo is taking a long drag from.

"That thing, Sir," Leo says, cocking his head to the side. "Besides, you still smoke Mr. President." Even though Leo is not happy with his President right now, he still believes in following protocol.

"Yeah, but Leo you had kicked the habit. What's it been now, eleven years?"

"Well, not really, Sir. I smoked a few years ago in St. Louis. Ya know... ya can't have a drink and not smoke," Leo recklessly tosses out with a scowl. He's very annoyed and doesn't particularly care what he says right now.

"Leo," the President drags his name out into three distinct syllables. Leo's last comment shocked him. He hopes that Leo's not inferring that you can't have a smoke without a drink, too. "You shouldn't start back up again."

"Fine." Leo snaps back as he puts out his cigarette and stands up. "Was there something that you needed, Sir?"

"No, I just noticed you out here and I just... thought I'd see what you were up to." Standing, the President shoves his hands in his pockets and looks down at his feet. There was a time that they could sit and talk for hours. Nowadays, there doesn't seem to be much to say to one another.

"Well, if that's all, Sir. I have a White House to run," Leo quickly turns and limps for the door.

"Leo?" Jed calls after his best friend after noticing Leo's pronounced limp.

Leo's shoulders drop a little as he stops at the door and then turns around, "Yes, Sir."

"Umm... nothing," he relents. He knows that Leo doesn't normally like to talk about his leg and with the way things are between them right now, he knows that Leo would probably get really pissed at him.

Leo nods his head, turns and disappears though the door.

"Sir, we're here," Ron states and brings the President back to the present.

"Yeah," he nods his head. He gets out of the limo and follows his agents inside. He tries to remember what Abbey has told him about Leo's condition and what to expect.

The all clear is given as they enter the elevator. Soon, they are on the ICU floor. The agents sweep the hall, and the President soon follows. When they get to the nurse's station, they all jump up. He gives them a small reserved smile.

The President enters Leo's room and finds Margaret standing by his bedside. "Margaret," he softly says.

"Mr. President," she quickly releases Leo's hand and moves a step away from the bed.

Jed gets his first real good look at his best friend and is stunned by the sight of him. With a quick intake of air, "How's he doing?" He asks, moving to his bedside.

"He just moaned out again and moved his hands this time, Sir." She responds in a hopeful voice.

"Margaret, I think we can dispense with the protocol today," smiling at her.

"Yes, Sir," she automatically responds.

Jed gives Margaret a pointed look, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Sir. I mean I'm fine." Margaret softly returns, looking down at her feet.

"Abbey said you haven't taken a break since you got here," the President says in a concerned voice.

Margaret bobs her head.

"Margaret, we can't have both of you sick. Now, I want you to go get something to eat," the President slightly scolds.

"But... CJ brought me something earlier." Margaret complains.

"Yeah, and I can see you didn't eat it, either," he points at the wrapped food on the table next to Leo's bed.

"I fell asleep, and it got cold," she explains.

"Margaret, go get something and I'll stay with Leo until you get back," the President offers.

Margaret just stands there and stares at Leo.

"Do I have to make it an executive order?" The President places a hand on Margaret's arm. "I'm back to being your President again," he smirks. "If that's what it takes to get you out of this room for a few minutes," he says to her sternly.

"Yes, Sir," Margaret protests, as she reluctantly picks up her purse and heads for the door. Leo would have a fit if he knew how she's treated the First Family today.

"I just want to sit with him for a few minutes," the President watches Margaret head for the door. "I have a few things I need to say to him."

Margaret stops in the doorway and lingers there.

"Margaret, don't worry. I'll take good care of him for you while you're gone, okay?" He says with a soft smile.

"Okay," Margaret bobs her head but doesn't move. Instead, she stares at Leo and tears up.

The President walks over and takes her by the shoulders, "Margaret, he's going to be fine." Then he pulls her into a hug.

"Yeah," she whispers back, pulling from his arms and disappearing down the hall.

Jed turns back at his friend, "I don't know what you ever did to deserve her, but it looks like you might be stuck with her for a while." He laughs a little, "I don't envy you once you get out of here, cause you're gonna to have Margaret hovering over you twenty-four seven."

Jed walks over to his beside and stares down at his friend of over forty years. He's upset by Leo's appearance. He hasn't seen him look this tattered since he hit rock bottom in that motel parking lot. "When did you lose so much weight?" He mutters to himself. He sees him everyday. How could he have missed this?

Jed stands there for several minutes, talking to Leo. He tells him about what has been going on at the White House and about the reporter. He tells Leo not to worry about it that CJ, Toby and Josh were handling it. Jed is about to say more but Leo moans out and moves his legs a little.

Jed takes a hold of Leo's hand and squeezes it, "I'm here old friend, and it's going to be okay."

Jed thinks he feels Leo squeeze back, he's not sure if he really did or if he just wishes he did.

Jed squeezes his hand harder; "We're here waiting for you to come back to us when you're ready."

Leo moans out again, like he's having a bad dream.

"Leo it's going to be okay. Abbey's back and she brought Zoey home with her too," Jed offered, telling Leo the good news.

At the mention of Zoey's name, Leo begins to thrash about even more and whimpers a little.

"Leo, its okay, Zoey's home safe, we got here back. Remember?"

Leo moans something; Jed swears that he's trying to say Margaret. He looks at one of his agents, "Get Margaret back up here immediately."

Jed turns back and looks at his friend, he's still moving about a little, but not as much as before.

He still keeps moaning, "Maarr..." But he has yet to open his eyes.

"Leo, hold on, I sent for her. Come on Leo wake up, we all want to see your eyes again. We miss you, come back to us."

Just then Margaret comes rushing back into the room, and she sees the movement and hears him moaning, she rushes to his side, practically knocking over the President, and grabs a hold of his hand, "Leo I'm here, come on Leo, it's okay, open your eyes."

She cups the side of his face, "Leo, I'm here, come on open your eyes," she brushes her fingertips along his face. She feels him tighten his grip on her hand.

Leo is trying so hard to break though. He wants to look into her eyes, but he's so tired and his head is throbbing. He can't seem to get his eyes open. Maybe if he rests a little more, he can open them up in a little while. He stops his movement and calms at the sound of her loving voice.

"That's okay, Leo. I know you tried so hard. You'll do it soon. You rest now, I'll be right here by your side," she tells him and she continues to stroke his face.

The President walks over to Margaret and lays a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She'd forgotten that he was even here, "I'm sorry for pushing..."

"Margaret, stop. I can see he's with who he should be. I'll try to come back tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be awake by then."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Don't worry about it. Margaret, did you get any food or something to drink?"

"I did, but I left it there," she adds and looks down at her clenched hands.

The President goes over to one of his agents and whispers something and then turns back around to her.

"Margaret, one the agents is going to go out and get you something better than hospital food, tell him what you want and he'll get it for you."

"Sir, I couldn't do that," she resists.

"Yes, you can and you will," he orders.

"Okay, I mean yes, Sir." Margaret finally relents.

"Margaret, I need to get back, before Ron has a heart attack. I'll be back tomorrow, if he let's me."

"Thank you, Sir."

"No thanks necessary. You're family." The President moves over to the door. "Margaret, try not to worry. I know he'll wake up soon. Night," he says as he takes one last look at Leo and then her, and then walks out the door.

After the President leaves, Margaret convinces the agent that she's too tired to eat. She promises that she will eat something in the morning. The agent tells her he will personally bring her breakfast first thing in the morning. She gives him a pleasant smile and thanks him. As soon as the agent leaves, she walks back over to her chair, pulls it over closer to the bed and sits down. Soon, she is fast asleep, with her head resting on the edge of Leo's bed and her hand on his.

* * *

It's a little after midnight when Josh finally makes it to the hospital. He heads down the hallway to the ICU and flashes his ID at the nurse's station and is pointed to Leo's room. As he enters the area, he notices that not much has changed since he was last here. He takes a steadying breath and heads for Leo's room. He's not too surprised to find Margaret sitting in a chair next to Leo's bed holding his hand and leaning her head on his bed. She looks completely worn out. Josh knows that everyone who has visited has offered to sit with Leo, so that she could go home, but she keeps refusing. He's thankful that she doesn't wake as he quietly enters the room. She needs the rest.

Josh stands next to Leo's bedside and stares at the man that for the past five years he has considered his surrogate father. He is shocked at the sight of the man he sees lying in bed. He looks so frail and old, not at all like the man he had once referred to as the second most powerful man in the country. Josh really hasn't seen much of Leo lately. They have been at odds since Zoey's kidnapping and they were barely even speaking after the episode with the congressman. Like most of the Senior Staff, he's been avoiding Leo too and now he feels terribly guilty for not realizing that something was wrong with Leo.

Josh takes another step closer to the bed. He gets a better look at Leo's face. Josh takes an intake of air, when he sees how swollen and bruised the one side is.

"Josh," Margaret whispers, after she wakes up and that someone else is in the room with her.

"Margaret, umm... how's he doing?" Josh struggles to keep from running out of the room. He's had the urge building since he entered Leo's room, and now he's not sure he can listen to what Margaret has to say.

"About the same. He still hasn't regained consciousness, but he's been moaning out a little more regularly, and I think he really did try to wake up when the President was here, cause he was... well the President said that he's sure Leo was trying to say my name."

"That sounds... promising," Josh agrees, running his hand though his unruly hair.

"Uh huh, the doctor says those are all good signs, but he's done nothing for over an hour now and... I won't be happy until he opens his eyes and... bellows for me," Margaret offers as see notices the nervousness on Josh's face.

"Ah, yeah," he breathes out, not moving from his spot.

"Josh," Margaret holds out her hand to him. "It's okay. Come over here." She's finally awake enough to realize that Josh is upset and is having trouble with even being in the hospital.

Josh slowly moves over to Margaret and takes her hand. "Its just... well, you know we... we haven't exactly been speaking much lately and well..." Josh stretches the back of his neck, stares up off to the left with a frown and then looks back at Margaret.

Margaret can't help but notice the 'Leo like' move and tries not to smile. Josh has picked up a lot of Leo's mannerisms over the years, especially the 'yelling for your assistant' one. "Josh," squeezing his hand. "You know he loves you, don't you?"

Josh nods his head, letting go of her hand and staring at the man in the bed.

"These past few weeks have been really hard on him. It killed him to have... to umm... reprimand you." Margaret stands and moves to Leo's side, taking his hand.

"Didn't really seem that way to me," Josh scoffs, moving next to Margaret.

Margaret gets a little on the defensive due to Josh's tone. "Josh you know he was getting so much pressure form the DNC and even the..." She stops, gathers herself and then continues. "Let's just say, a lot of people were asking for your head, but Leo wouldn't let them have it."

"Yeah, cause he wanted it for himself," Josh snaps back, a little harsher than he had planned.

"Josh if that's what think, then you don't know him the way I thought you did. He was trying to keep you out of everyone's hair, but you kept pushing him and..." Margaret takes a quick intake of air and stops. She tries hard not to start crying again, but she fails, and the tears start to fall.

"It's... well I was so use to being in the thick of things that I couldn't or wouldn't let go and... he took..." Josh tries to explain.

"Josh," Margaret interrupts him. "If you would have seen him after you were shot, you could never think that Leo wanted you hurt. He... he... was devastated when you were shot. I found him in the early morning hours holding a picture of you and him. He was...sitting there with tears in his eyes. He looked up at me when he realized I was in the room, and the tears fell down his face."

"Margaret, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Josh softly says, regretting his comment about Leo. He puts a comforting hand on her arm.

Margaret glances at Leo and then back to Josh, "He's been though so much and... when is it going to stop?"

"Margaret, I don't know. But, you know I... I love him like a father and... is he really going to be okay?" Josh has tears in his eyes.

Margaret collects her emotions, "The doctors seem to think so. They believe that the exhaustion is making it tougher for him to wake up. He tried to wake up when the President was here a little over an hour ago, but he's been quiet since then. Resting better, I think or hope..." Margaret lowers her head and her shoulders start to shake from her sobs.

"Margaret, he's gonna be fine," Josh tries to convince her and himself.

"Oh, Josh. What if they're wrong and he doesn't wake up or if he does and he has brain..." Margaret can't even bring herself to say the word that is echoing in her head.

"Margaret, he's... he's Leo McGarry we have to believe that he's going to be okay," Josh engulfs her into a tight, comforting hug. "He's going to be awake soon growling and wanting to get the hell out of here. You know that just as well as I do."

"I hope you're right," Margaret closes her eyes. "I don't know what I'd do without him."

Josh holds on tightly to the woman that he's known for years. He's always liked her and wishes that he could reassure her that Leo is going to be okay, but then again he wishes he were convinced himself that things would work out okay. He closes his eyes and remembers how Donna stayed close by his side after he was shot. Both he and Leo are extremely lucky to have such dedicated and loyal assistants. Josh smiles as he thinks of a way to get Margaret's mind off of things.

Josh leans back and hold Margaret at arms length, "Margaret, why don't you tell Leo how you feel?"

A ripple of panic crosses over her face, but she recovers quickly. "What do you mean?"

"That you love him," Josh smiles.

"Well, of course, I love him," she says, trying the same line on him that she had tried on Mallory earlier today.

"Maggie," Josh quips. "You know that's not what I mean. Tell him you're in love with him." Josh whispers.

"What is it with you and Mallory?" Margaret tries to laugh. "Have you two been rehearsing this?"

"No, Donna pointed it out to me during the hearings. The camera was on Leo, and you could see you in the background. It was written all over your face, the angst, the love, the hurt and the pride. It was all there, Maggie."

"Oh," Margaret whispers, pulling from his arms.

"Hey, don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. I never said anything before, and I won't now."

Margaret bobs her head and yawns.

"But, I might tell the President about it, if you don't get some rest." Josh teases.

"I'm sure he already knows," she says, taking a hold of Leo's hand. No reason to hide her feelings from Josh, any longer. "Although, he didn't say anything about it when he was here."

"Huh?"

"Mrs. Bartlet overheard me earlier today when... when I was umm... talking to Leo."

"Really," Josh squeaks.

"Yeah," Margaret smiles, it's getting easier to admit it to people. She just hopes that Leo feels the same way.

"Well, I don't think that she told the President, because it's not been spread all over the White House. You know what a gossip he is," Josh laughs.

"True," Margaret agrees with a smile.

"Margaret, I'm going to go. I want you to promise me you're going to try to get some rest. You don't need to be standing by his bedside all night long." Josh says, taking her hand and walking her over to her reclining chair.

"Okay," she says, sitting down.

Josh grabs the blanket off the arm of the chair and covers her up. "I'll be back tomorrow." He says as he turns to leave. "Night."

"Night," she returns, as she tries to get comfortable and settled for the long night ahead of her.

* * *

TBC in Part 3

The posting of Collapse Part 3 is going to be delayed, because I am working on a new Leo/Margaret Thanksgiving story.


	3. Part 3

Part 3

Margaret jerks awake at the sound of Leo moaning softly. She rushes to his side, almost falling, because her right leg has fallen asleep from the awkward position she was sleeping in, in the chair.

"Leo," Margaret coaxes as she takes a hold of his hand and squeezes it, "you're okay. I'm here, Leo."

Leo moves his head a little, as his eyes begin to flutter. He starts thrashing his legs, like he trying to escape something.

"Leo, calm down. It's okay," she implores. "Please just open your eyes, Leo." She begs, as she cups his chin and squeezes his hand even harder.

Leo finally calms down a little and lightly returns her squeeze, "Marg…aret," he dryly whispers as his eyes sputter open and then close again.

"Yes, Leo it's me," she softly cries. "Can I see your eyes again?" She says, tracing his jaw line with her fingertips. "Leo, please open your eyes again."

Leo's eyes flicker open again. His face shows signs of pain. He slowly closes his eyes again.

"Leo," she slightly panics.

Leo slowly opens his eyes and slightly turns his head towards the sound of her voice as he tries to concentrate. Finally, after a few seconds, his eyes focus and he sees his assistant hovering over him, looking very worried. "Margaret."

"Hi there," she softly says with a relieved smile, as she pulls her hand away from his face.

Leo's eyes close again for a moment. He reopens them as a ripple of pain washes across his face. "Wh…ere am I?" He hoarsely asks.

"It's going to be okay, Leo. You're at GW," she calmly tells him.

"How long?"

"Since… early this yesterday afternoon," she supplies.

"Why?" His face contorts in pain.

"Why what?" Margaret gives Leo a puzzled look.

"Why am I here?" He finally manages to get out.

"Leo, don't you remember?"

Leo shakes his head slightly and quickly discovers that's a huge mistake. His head is throbbing. He raises a hand to his head.

"Leo, do you remember me forcing you to take a nap in your office?" Margaret asks, worrying that he doesn't remember anything. Her mind quickly goes into overdrive. What if he has amnesia?

Leo lightly touches the bandage on his head, "Oh, yeah," he breathes out as he winches.

"Leo, you probably should leave that alone," she advises him as she gently takes his hand and pulls it away, stopping him from continuing to probe the band-aid that is covering his wound. "Do you remember waking up from your nap?"

"No," he replies, deciding not to shake his head again any time soon. He feels like he has a terrible hangover.

"Well… when I woke you up, you were mumbling something I couldn't understand and then you stood up and collapsed," Margaret pauses as she replays that horrible scene in her mind again. "I tried to get to you but... I was too late. You hit your head on the coffee table."

"Collapsed?" Leo closes his eyes and then reopens them.

"Yes, the doctor says you collapsed from exhaustion," she explains, as Leo squeezes her hand tighter. "Leo, are you in pain?"

"Yeah…" he exhales, "a little."

Margaret is shocked that Leo admitted that he's in pain, because his standard answer to that question is always 'I'm fine', even if he's in pain or upset. "Leo… I should call the nurse to get the doctor in here to examine you now that you are awake."

"In a minute," he pauses, trying to keep his mind on track. He's having a hard time concentrating.

"No, now," she counters as she reaches over and presses the call button for the nurse's station.

Within a few seconds, a voice comes over the intercom, "Yes?"

"Mr. McGarry's awake," Margaret thankfully announces.

"Okay, I'll notify his doctor and I'll be there in just a minute."

"Thank you," she tells the nurse and then she looks back down at a frowning Leo, "What?"

"What time is it?"

Margaret looks at her watch, "A little after three."

"In the afternoon?"

"No, in the morning. Remember, I told you, you fell yesterday afternoon," she says, trying not to get too concerned about him forgetting.

"Oh, yeah. I just…" Leo pauses.

"Leo, it's okay. You're bound to be a little confused at first," she reassures him. Even though she not sure herself.

"Wh… why are you still here?" His brow scrunches up.

"I was… waiting for you to wake up," she softly explains, as her hands start to fidget.

"Why?" Leo asks, giving her a puzzled look and closing his eyes, unable to wait for her answer.

"Leo?"

Leo's eyes reopen, "Yeah, I'm still waiting."

"For what?"

"An answer," he breathes out.

"Oh… I was waiting for you to wake up…" she stalls, as she starts to blush "to a… well I just wanted to a… tell you…"

"Mr. McGarry," the voice says from the doorway. "I heard you're awake. I'm Doctor Vincent. I was asked to be assigned to you."

"Please, call me Leo," he says as he glances at the doctor and then back at his red headed assistant.

Margaret turns to see Leo's doctor enter the room, "Yes, he is but he's still having trouble keeping his eyes open," she sighs, happy to have been interrupted. She grabs her purse and heads for the door. She knows the doctor needs some time and privacy to examine him.

"Margaret," Leo's raspy voice calls.

"Yes, Leo," she turns.

"You coming back?" He asks, suddenly looking a little afraid.

"Yes. I'm just going to call Mallory and let her know you're finally awake," she gives him a reassuring smile, letting him know that she'll be back.

"You called her?" He frowns.

"Leo, she had a right to know."

"Okay. You're right," he relents.

"I'll be right back," she assures him.

"Okay," his face showing relief.

----------

"Hello."

"Hey Mallory, it's me," Margaret says into the pay phone.

"How's Daddy? Is he awake?" Mallory quickly asks, as she jumps up off the couch and starts to pace.

"He just woke up. The doctor's in with him now."

"Is he going to be…" She's afraid to finish the sentence.

"Mal, he seems… fine, but I'll know more after I talk with his doctor."

"Oh thank God," Mallory closes her eyes and the looks up. "Is he in pain?"

"His head hurts, and I'm sure he's going to be stiff and sore all over from the fall."

"Margaret, you wouldn't lie to me about this, would you?"

"No Mal, I wouldn't."

"Okay, I just…"

"Mallory, don't worry about it."

"You sounded just like Daddy then," Mallory laughs.

"Yeah, I guess I did," she shakes her head a little as she smiles. "Mal, I hate to rush off, but I have to call the White House and then I want to make sure I get to talk with your father's doctor after he finishes examining him."

"Okay, Margaret, take care of Daddy for me, please."

"I will Sweetie." 'I've been doing that for years and don't plan to stop now,' she thinks to herself.

"So are you going to tell him?" Mallory wonder out loud, with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Mallory." Margaret growls.

"I think you should," she suggests, as she brushes some hair out of her face.

"So, you've said." Margaret responds.

"Well?" Mallory asks.

"Mal, I need to go. Next time I call, I'll hopefully be able to call from your father's room, so you can talk with him."

"Okay, thanks Margaret. Tell Daddy I love him."

"I will, bye Mal."

"Bye."

----------

Margaret walks back down the hallway, after calling the White House. She spoke with the evening Secret Service agent and told him to inform the First Lady and President, after they wake up, that Mr. McGarry has regained consciousness, and he seems fine and that she'll call them in the morning with more details. She hovers outside Leo's room, waiting for the doctor.

"Doctor Vincent, how is he?" Margaret quickly inquires, as soon as the doctor enters the hallway.

"He's going to be fine. Right now he's a little confused, but that's to be expected after the trauma to his head. He's got a nice headache, but he doesn't feel dizzy and he's got the start of some real nice bruises on the rest his body. I want to keep him here, in ICU, and continue to monitor him closely for the next few hours. He should be out of ICU and into another private room this afternoon. If you can get your husband to start eating, he'll probably be out of here in just a couple of days."

"Umm… Leo… I mean Mr. McGarry isn't my husband. I'm Margaret McGuire… his assistant." She blushes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed… you had his health proxy and Abbey insisted you be allowed to sit with him in ICU," the doctor uncomfortably explains, as he turns slightly red.

"That's okay… he's no longer married, and his daughter is out of the country and… well… I've worked for him for several years and… I'm the closet thing he has to family… here right now."

"No, I'm sorry. It was my mistake, Miss McGuire," the doctor apologies again, as he offers her his hand.

"Please, call me Margaret," she says, while shaking his hand.

"Okay, Margaret," he warmly smiles at her. "I think that Mr. McGarry is very lucky to have you for his assistant, most won't have bothered to sit up all night with their boss," The doctor points out, as she studies her closely.

"Thank you," she replies, as she tries to glance around the doctor, so that she can get a peek at Leo.

"Margaret, he was almost asleep when I finished his exam. I imagine he'll sleep though the rest of the night. If you'd like to go home, someone here can call you if there are any problems," he offers, noting the tiredness in her face. He also notices something else; he thinks that she cares a lot more for Mr. McGarry, than as just a boss. Maybe even loves him, he wonders to himself.

"No, I have to stay… umm… that is… I promised his daughter that I would… stay," she explains quickly.

"Okay then, I'll see you in the morning, when I make my rounds, in about three hours," the doctor says as he looks at his watch and quickly walks away.

Margaret walks back into Leo's room, finds him asleep so she sits down in the chair next to his bed. She starts to reach for his hand, but stops, remembering that he's no longer unconscious. She knows that it would be awkward if he woke up and found her sitting there holding his hand. She takes heavy breath, closes her eyes and soon falls asleep.

----------

Leo slowly wakes to a throbbing pain in his head. He panics, thinking that the throbbing is from a hangover, but after a few seconds, it all comes rushing back to him. He's at GW because he fell in his office. He looks around his room and discovers that Margaret is still here, asleep in a chair next to his bed. He lightly smiles at the sight of her. He slowly moves his legs and arms a little, testing them for pain. He's stiff and sore all over from the fall. 'Man, I must have gone down hard to be this sore,' he thinks to himself. He remembers Margaret tucking him in for a nap, but he doesn't remember her waking him up or falling.

Leo continues to lie there for a few moments, just watching Margaret sleep. She doesn't look very comfortable in the hard chair, so Leo finally decides to wake her up, "Margaret."

"Hmm…" Margaret mumbles in her sleep.

"Margaret," Leo's voice a little louder this time.

Margaret suddenly wakes and quickly jumps up, "Leo, are you okay? Do you need something?" She asks in a panic.

"Margaret, calm down. I'm fine," he slightly frowns. "But, I do need for ya to do something for me," he slightly smiles.

"Anything," she promptly answers with conviction.

Leo grins at his assistant's unwavering willingness to help him. She never ceases to amaze him. "I want ya to go home."

Margaret promptly shakes her head, "No, I'm fine. I'll stay. You might need something," she offers as an explanation.

"And just what would that be? It's not like I'm gonna dictate a letter or need you to answer my phone," Leo calmly points out.

"No… I guess not," Margaret says with a hurt look on her face. She looks sadly down at her hands that are resting on the bed rail. 'He doesn't want me here,' she thinks to herself.

Leo immediately realizes that he's hurt her feelings, "Look… I didn't mean it the way it came out… it's just… well…" he sighs, as he closes his eyes and then looks up at Margaret. He slowly places a hand on top of hers, "Margaret, I really do appreciate you looking after me and staying here but… you need your rest too," he tries to convey his concern with his voice and his eyes.

Margaret bobs her head, "I was sleeping… until you woke me," she logically points out.

"I meant your own bed," Leo softly smirks.

"Oh, but…"

Leo realizes that she's not going to leave for her own good, but she might if she thinks he needs something. "Margaret, I'll make ya a deal. Why don't you go home to your apartment and do whatever you need to do, maybe even nap..."

"But, I'm fine," Margaret quickly interjects.

"Margaret, let me finish," he slightly grumbles.

"Okay, sorry."

"Like I was saying, go to your place and then run over to my hotel room and pick me up a few things for my stay here."

Margaret thinks about what Leo has just said., and decides he probably could use some stuff and she sure could use a shower and a change of clothes. "Okay, but I'm not leaving until the doctor makes his rounds this morning."

"Fair enough," Leo responds as he squeezes her hand and then lets go of it. He brings his hand back up to his bandage on the side of his head.

"Leo, you probably shouldn't mess with that," Margaret advises again.

"I know," he says as he feels the stubble around his wound. "Man, they must have shaved half my head," he complains.

"Leo, they didn't shave that much and besides it'll grow back," she evenly affirms with a small smile.

"I hope so. There's not much up there to begin with," he frowns, as he pulls his hand away.

"You still have plenty of sandy blond hair left," she politely tells him, as she studies his head.

"Mostly gray, now," he grouses, as he looks up into her eyes.

"Leo, you are still, if not even more handsome than the day I started working for you," Margaret announces without thinking and then quickly blushes.

Leo smiles at her forwardness, "Thanks. Ya know… you're a very beautiful woman, I can't believe someone hasn't swept you off your feet, yet."

"Leo," she blushes even more. He's never said anything like that to her before. He's always been very standoffish when it comes to things like that with her. She's overheard him complement others at social events about their outfits or how nice they look, but he's never once commented about her clothes or the way she looks.

"It's true," he impishly grins. He always shied away from making comments about Margaret, he's been afraid that his true feelings would shine through.

"Thank you, although I don't think most would agree with you," she awkwardly says, as she stares down at her hands again.

Leo is about to say more, when the doctor walks into the room. "Well, how's my favorite White House patient feeling today?" The doctor beams, as he makes his way towards the bed.

"I'm fine. I'm feeling much better now than I was the last time you were here. I think I could probably go home today," Leo suggests.

"Nice try, Leo, but that's just not going to happen today," he smiles as he looks at Margaret, "Now, is it Margaret?" and then studies Leo's chart that is in his hand.

"No Sir, it's not," she smiles.

The doctor peers over the chart, "We might move you to a regular room today, if you continue to stay stabilized and eat and drink something for us."

"Great, now you're on her side," Leo smirks as he nods his head towards his tall assistant.

"Leo, you really do need to start taking better care of yourself. Which means more sleep and better eating habits. If you eat and drink today and try drink some Ensure we'll take that feeding tube out."

Margaret bobs her head in total agreement, "Don't worry, he will Doctor."

"I have no doubt that you will make sure he does," the doctor grins as he continues to go over Leo's chart.

Leo's hand moves up to his nose, and he feels for the feeding tube. He was so distracted by his headache and Margaret's presence that he didn't even notice the tube before now. "What is this for?"

"Leo you are malnourished and you needed some calories so you have been on continuous feeds of Ensure to help with your healing process. We can stop the feeds but leave the tube in, and if you don't drink or eat we have the option of feeding you again overnight. One way or another you will get some nutrition. It's entirely up to you," the doctor explains to Leo.

Leo gives Margaret a glare, "What?" She commands with a pointed stare.

"Nothing," He sighs, realizing that he's lost this battle. "I'll eat."

"You bet your ass you will," Margaret quips without thinking and then quickly blushes, "Sorry," she says to the doctor.

"Don't worry about it, Margaret. I like how you think," the doctor smiles. "Well, I can see your in good hands," the doctor comments, as he gives his patient a warm smile. "We'll see about getting you moved, later today, if you behave," he comments as he heads for the door.

"He acts like I'm in kindergarten," Leo snidely tosses out, after the doctor leaves the room.

"Well, stop acting like it," Margaret retorts with a smirk, "and maybe you'll get out of here sooner."

"Margaret," Leo growls.

"Oh," Margaret quickly remarks, as something pops into her head. "I never got a chance to tell you about my call to Mallory last night."

Leo's disposition quickly changes for the better at the mention of his daughter's name, "No, you didn't."

"She told me to tell you she loves you," Margaret smiles and wishes that she could tell him the same thing. "I told her that you were awake and were going to be okay that is if you start taking better care of yourself."

"Margaret," he grumbles. "There was no reason to tell her that."

"And I told her that I'll call her from your room today so that you could talk with her."

"Yeah, I'd like that, but I still say you shouldn't…"

"Leo, she's your only daughter, she had the right to know," Margaret quickly argues.

Leo's quiet for a while, "I know it's just… I didn't want her to worry… I imagine you've been worrying enough for the both of you," he smiles.

"Maybe," she quips.

"Yeah, I just bet you've been," Leo lowers his eyes. "Sorry bout that," his voice drops to almost a whisper.

"Leo, it's not like you did this on purpose, but… you'd better never let it happen again," she informs him.

"I'll try not to," he smiles, looking back up at her. "So… ya gonna go to my hotel and bring me back some stuff?"

"Yeah, I guess I could probably use a change of clothes, too," she agrees, wanting a shower, too. In addition, she knows that Leo will be a lot more comfortable with his own pajamas. He should be able to wear them once they move him into another room.

"Do you still have the extra key to my suite?"

Margaret looks at Leo like he's grown another head, "Yes, Leo. I was thinking about selling it on Ebay, but…"

"Okay, okay," he quickly interrupts, "I was just checking, no reason to get lippy," Leo smirks.

"Anything in particular that you want from your hotel?" She asks.

"Nah, just the usual stuff ya normally pack for me," he informs her.

"Except the double breasted suits," she quips.

"Well, I guess I could use something to wear out of this place that is if they ever let me go home," he sighs.

"I don't think you'll need a suit for your trip home, how about some Dockers and a button down shirt," Margaret suggests.

"And a sport coat. I do have a certain image to maintain," he softly laughs.

"Okay and a sport coat," Margaret moves over, picks up her purse and heads for the door, "See you in a little while."

"Take your time. You should nap at your place," he calls after her.

"We'll see," she softly comments, as he leaves his room. She has no plans to sleep. She wants to get back to Leo as soon as she can.

TBC


	4. Part 4

Part 4

Margaret drags her tired and weary body into Leo's expensive hotel suite. She's really starting to feel the full effects of spending most of yesterday and all of last night in a chair at the hospital. She had hoped that the shower and the change of clothes at her apartment would have helped, but the revitalizing effects of them both have already worn off.

Margaret makes her way through Leo's bedroom and into his bathroom. She gathers his toiletries and places them in the bag he keeps in there. She grabs his robe off the back of the door, walks back out into his bedroom and tosses his robe on the king sized bed. She hesitates a moment by his bed, imagining him there and smiles. Her mind starts to daydream, but she quickly dismisses it. She doesn't have time for silly thoughts about what could be, right now. She needs to get back to Leo at the hospital.

Margaret walks over to his closet and picks out a pair of pants, shirt and sport coat . She walks them over to the bed and carefully folds them. She goes back to the closet and gets his carry-on bag off of the top shelf. Something clunks inside of it as she gets it down. She has a puzzled look on her face as he walks the bag over and places it on the bed. She opens the bag and peers inside, "Damnit Leo," she mutters out loud, more scared than angry, as she raises a shaky hand to her head. She stares at the suitcase for a few seconds and then plops down on the bed next to the bag and takes out the bottle of Johnny Walker Blue. She quickly examines the seal and finds unbroken, at least on this one. 'Have there been others before it?' she wonders.

Tears start to slide down her face as she continues to stare at the bottle of scotch. She puts it back in his bag and lies down on the bed. Her face lands on his robe, and she breathes in the distinctive scent of his cologne. She closes her eyes and several disturbing images, from Leo's days as Labor Secretary, flash through her mind. She starts to sob even harder as numerous painful memories come flooding back. She curls up into a ball, hanging onto Leo's robe, as she tries to make them go away. She's still clutching his robe to her face, when she finally succumbs to some much needed sleep.

----------

"Hey, Leo. How you feeling?" CJ asks, as she hesitantly walks into his room and over to his bedside.

"I'm fine," he replies, looking up at her with a half frown. He can tell by the way that CJ is acting that something is wrong and whatever it is, he knows he's not going to like it.

CJ looks around the room, "Where's Margaret?"

"I sent her to my hotel to get some items for me," Leo explains and then sighs, "CJ, what's going on?"

"Well… we sort of have a situation with a reporter," she begins, as she lowers her eyes.

"CJ, what type of situation?" Leo raises an eyebrow, and adjusts his bed so that he is sitting up straighter.

"Leo… during a press conference, after you collapsed, a reporter suggested that the real reason behind your fall was… because you were…"

"Drunk," Leo's raspy voice supplies with a whisper.

CJ nods her head, "Yeah."

"I wasn't, and I'm not drinking again," Leo points out with a touch of anger in his voice, the frustration growing in him.

"I didn't think so and neither does…" CJ abruptly stops.

"Neither does who?" Leo asks.

"Margaret," CJ almost whispers.

"Damnit," Leo says as he looks away, when CJ mentions his assistant's name as he suddenly remembers the bottle of scotch he has stored in his carry on bag in his hotel room. She's bound to find it, and he knows she won't be afraid to ask him about it. He turns his attention back to CJ, "Is there anything else?" He sighs heavily as he can't help but feel like he's had this conversation before with CJ, in this very room. 'Did I dream this or did she already tell me this?' He silently wonders to himself.

CJ hesitates telling him about the rumors about Jenny and his old business partner, she knows that he will eventually find out, but she doesn't want him getting upset right now. Especially without Margaret here to help calm him. She's been the only one who's had any luck at reigning in his temper, lately. "Well… we pulled his credentials and then later that day he made a statement that…"

"That what?" Leo asks.

"That you have a bottle of scotch in your hotel room," Margaret's exasperated voice rings through the room from the doorway.

CJ whips her head around and sees Margaret standing there with an incensed look on her face, pointed directly at Leo. CJ knows that there is something is obviously wrong, and she needs to get out of there quick..

"Umm… I think I'll leave you two alone," CJ says as she turns and hurries towards the door. She stops by Margaret, gives her knowing look and a comforting touch to her arm on her way out.

Margaret waits until CJ leaves the room and then walks over closer to Leo's bed. She starts to open her mouth, but Leo holds up a hand to stop her.

"I take it you found it," he sighs, knowing what's about to come next.

"Leo, what the hell were you thinking?" Her voice and eyes demand.

"I was thinking that I needed a drink. Why else would I have bought the damn bottle?" He retorts with a quick blaze of anger.

"But Leo, you're an alcoholic," she yells back at him.

"And you think I don't know that…" He roars back at her, his voice dipping in sarcasm.

"Leo… that's not what I mean… I just… it's…" her voice goes high, full of embarrassment. She's never referred to him as an alcoholic, before. She feels terrible.

"Look…" Leo pauses, gathering himself. "I didn't drink any of it," he answers her unspoken question, as he glances down at her hands that are fidgeting in front of her.

"Just this bottle or any other, Leo?" She demands in a strained voice. She has to know for sure.

Leo's eyes flash up at Margaret. Yes, she'd be the one who would be blunt. She's heard his lies and excuses before. "No, not this one… or any other bottle. I haven't had a drink since…"

"Saint Louis," she offers, with an expressive look, as she slowly moves even closer to his bedside.

Leo closes his eyes and nods, "Yeah," and then he looks back up at his assistant, "You knew?"

Margaret bobs her head as she bites up lower lip. She's always wondered about what happened that afternoon.

"You… you never said anything," Leo comments as he nervously straightens the covers on his bed.

"I… well you…" she softly stammers, trying to find the right words to explain her reasoning at the time. "I would have if… well I watched you closely for a long time. I could see the torment and… see you fighting. I didn't figure you needed anyone else that…"

"Margaret, I understand," Leo lowers his eyes and then looks back up at his assistant. "Thanks," he softly replies.

"Leo," Margaret states quietly as she takes the last step necessary to be right next to his bed and rests her hands on the bed rail. "The past is the past. Saint Louis isn't what's important, right now," she implores as she tightly clutches the bed rail, causing her knuckles to go white.

"Yeah," he slowly answers, "you're right."

"Why?" Margaret whispers.

Leo hesitates as he rubs his weary eyes, takes a deep breath and then continues, "After Zoey's…" He stops, still not able to talk about it out loud.

"Kidnapping?" Margaret provides.

"No, her rescue…"

"Her Rescue?" Margaret's voice catches. "I would think that…" she stops as her mind races, looking for a reason. It doesn't take her long to come up one. "After your meeting with Mrs. Bartlet?"

"Yeah… but don't blame Abbey for it," Leo quickly states, when he sees Margaret make a face. "I'm the one who chose to go out and buy the bottle. I'm the one who… who…"

"Who what, Leo?" She slightly demands. She knows he needs to talk about this. She's not going to let him stop now.

"Nothing…" Leo looks away from her. How can he tell her that he's the one responsible for Zoey's kidnapping?

Margaret watches Leo turn away from her and it breaks her heart. "Leo," she whispers, fighting back the tears in her eyes. "Zoey's kidnapping not your fault," she lays a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Leo refuses to look at her, "It was," he spits out.

"Leo," she begs for him to look at her as she reaches over and touches his face with her fingertips.

Leo slowly looks up at his assistant, "Margaret… you have no idea what type of a man you work for…"

"Yes… yes I do," Margaret's voice goes soft, as a tear finds its way down her face. "I work for a kind man… with a gentle and caring soul… who loves his country and has put his country first over his own well being for most of his adult life." She quickly wipes the tear from her face.

"You're wrong," he shakes his head. "I'm the one who convinced the President to… kill Shareef," Leo's informs her, his voice dropping to an almost whisper as he tries to move out from under her hand.

"You both did what you had to do for the sake of the country," Margaret trembles, as she remembers that terrible night of Zoey's kidnapping.

"Yeah and look how it turned out," a dejected Leo mumbles.

"Sometimes… doing what's right for the country… comes with a high price," Margaret reminds him.

"Too high a price," Leo's eyes flash up at Margaret.

"Yes, this time it might have been… but Zoey's back now and she's doing fine. Where others…" Margaret's voice fractures, as she briefly closes her eyes, "are… still paying for it."

"That's not important," a penitent looking Leo points out. "It's never going to be the same again," he tosses out.

"Leo, just what happened between you and Mrs. Bartlet in the Residence that afternoon?" Margaret asks, daring to finally get to the truth about Leo's downturn in mood after Zoey's kidnapping.

"It doesn't matter," Leo mumbles.

"Yes it does, Leo," Margaret argues with some intensity, "especially… if it affected you enough to go out and buy a damn bottle of Johnny Walker Blue," she points out to him as she crosses her arms over her chest and stares down at Leo with an unwavering look.

Leo looks up at Margaret and intently stares into her innocent blue eyes, "Abbey… doesn't want me in the… Residence… ever again. She doesn't want me near… her or the… girls," Leo's says in a very subdued voice as he lowers his eyes that are now threatening to overflow with tears.

"Leo, she was here, yesterday," she informs him.

"Abbey was here?" He quickly looks up at her. His voice is full of surprise. "She's back from the farm?"

"Yes, we talked some yesterday. She didn't go into any details but… I know she feels bad about what happened between you two," she explains.

"You two talked?"

"Yes… and she's coming back later today to check on you."

Leo is about to say something but quickly stops when a nurse walks into his room, "Mr. McGarry, I've got some good news for you. You're moving into a different room, since you've improved so much today. I'll be back in a few minutes to unhook you from some of the monitors and remove your catheter," she smiles.

Margaret and Leo both blush when she mentions the catheter.

"But, you're not to get up and go to the bathroom without assistance," the nurse informs him, as she heads out the door.

Leo watches her disappear from his room, "What? I don't need any help going to the…" He grumbles.

"Leo," she softly scolds. "Calm down. I'm sure they just want to make sure you don't fall and hit the other side of your head," she smiles. "You should just be happy to get out of this room," she adds.

"Yeah," Leo instantly calms, "but I'd be happier if I were at home instead."

"You will in a couple of days, when you start improving."

"Not soon enough to suit me," he informs her.

"Well, if you listen to your doctor and do what he tells you."

"I don't seem to have a choice in the matter," he mumbles.

"No, you don't," she smiles.

"Yeah."

"Well… at least now you'll be able to wear your own pajamas that I brought you," she points over to his bag that she sat down by the doorway.

"Yeah, thanks," Leo sighs. "Because, I don't even want to think about getting up and walking around here with this thing on," he motions to the hospital gown that he's wearing.

Margaret quickly lowers her eyes and blushes at his comments, because in her head she envisions Leo's rear-end hanging out as he is walking around in his hospital gown. "Ah… I brought you your robe too."

"Thanks, Margaret."

"You're welcome."

"So, what else did you bring me?" He asks with a smile

"I stopped downstairs at the gift shop and got you something," she says, as she goes over to his bag and pulls a brown paper bag from the side pocket of his suitcase. "Here," she says, handing it to him.

Leo takes the bag and pulls out the item, "Thanks, but I don't know where my glasses are?" He comments as he flips through the papers of the crossword magazine that Margaret got him.

"Oh, I've got them in my purse, I remembered to grab them on the way out the door yesterday," she informs him, as she goes over and gets them for him.

"Thanks, Margaret. You think of everything."

"Well, I figured you'd need something to do while you were stuck in here," she smiles, handing him his glasses.

"Yeah, I guess I could start on one now, since there's no TV in here to watch the news on."

"I picked up some magazines for me to read, too. I usually don't get a chance to read that much."

"No, I guess you don't," he softly laughs, as he opens up his crossword magazine and starts to work the first puzzle.

Margaret walks over to the chair, sits down and grabs one of the magazines she got today. She lazily starts to flip though it, just enjoying being in the same room as Leo.

They spend the next hour or so like this. Waiting for the nurse to come back and move Leo to his new room.

----------

Abbey follows her agents into the hospital. She's a little nervous about seeing Leo. She gets on the elevator and sighs.

"Ma'am, we just found out that they've moved Mr. McGarry to another room," the First Lady's lead Secret Service Agent informs her, as he presses the button for the correct floor.

After the elevator stops, they exit and head for Leo's room. Abbey hesitates outside Leo's room for a few seconds before entering.

"Leo," Abbey cautiously says, standing in the doorway of Leo's hospital room. She's not sure how he's going to react to her being here. The last time they met, she had not treated him very well. She's knows she hurt him and now regrets what she said to him.

"Abbey," Leo faintly replies and motions for her to come into the room.

"Where's Margaret?" She asks, after glancing around.

"She went for a walk while they moved me," he informs her. He wishes that she were here right now, so this wouldn't be so awkward.

"I'm surprised you got her to leave. She's been here since they brought you in here," she says, as she moves over closer to his bed. She can't help but notice how uncomfortable Leo looks.

"I tried to send her home, but…"

"Several of us tried, too." Abbey informs him.

"She's stubborn," Leo faintly smiles.

"Like her boss," Abbey adds with a hint of a smirk.

"Yeah," Leo exhales.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Hmm… I would have bet the farm that you'd say that," Abbey slightly smiles.

"Yeah, well… I'll be out of here in a couple of days." He informs her as he nervously plays with the edge of his blanket.

"If you follow the doctor's orders," she reminds him.

"I will."

"We'll see," Abbey says and then pauses as she stands by his bed for a few seconds staring down at Leo. Finally, she takes a deep breathe and starts, "Leo, we need to talk."

"Yeah," Leo sighs, lowering his eyes as he braces himself, knowing what's coming. He's sure that Abbey's going to continue what she started in the Residence a few weeks ago. He lifts his eyes back up at her.

"I'm still a little mad at you," she softly states, as she takes the last step towards his bed.

"I… know and…" Leo takes a heavy breath, but before he can continue, Abbey starts in again.

"But, I also know that you would never do anything on purpose… to hurt the girls or me…"

"Abbey, I…"

"No Leo, let me finish. I was angry and hurt and… I was looking for someone to blame... I…"

"Abbey, it was my fault," Leo interrupts, "I talked Jed into… killing Shareef. He would have never… it's my fault that Zoey…" Leo stops, guilt flows from his eyes in the form of tears. He painfully turns his head away from her. He can't bear to look at her face. He doesn't want to see the hatred in her eyes, even though he knows he deserves it.

"Leo," Abbey says softly as she lays a hand gently on his shoulder, "look at me, please."

Leo slowly turns his head towards her and is surprised to only find kindness in her eyes.

"Leo, please, you need to stop this. It happened, and it's over with now. Zoey's home safe and sound. I know that Jed or you would never have done anything to hurt… Zoey."

Leo flinches when he hears Abbey mention Zoey's name. Of all the Bartlet girls, she has always been his favorite. "I'm so sorry, Abbey," Leo whispers, as he squints his eyes.

"Sweetie," she lays a soft hand on his shoulder. "You're killing yourself with your guilt. You collapsed from exhaustion, you've lost weight, your mood has been appalling and you're smoking again."

"I don't deserve…"

"Leo, you're a good hearted soul who deserves so much more in his life than he's been dealt these past few years," Abbey points out to him, as she takes his hand.

"I see you've been talking with Margaret."

"And Jed."

"I'm glad you're talking with the President. He… needs you," Leo gives her a faint smile.

"I'm glad, too," Abbey smiles down at Leo. "Now, lets get past all of this other stuff. First, you're going to have to make some major changes in your life style."

"Yes, Ma'am," Leo mocks, as he wipes the tears from his face.

"And…" Abbey hesitates, "someone else came with me and desperately wants to see you."

"Okay… who?"

"Zoey," Abbey says and then waits for Leo's reaction.

"She wants to see me?" Leo asks. "She must hate me…" As new tears appear, in his emotionally fragile state.

"Leo, she doesn't hate or blame you. Of all of us, she never did. She's one of the people who convinced me that I was wrong to blame you and to give you and her father a break."

"I… don't know what to say to her. I…" Leo looks panicked.

"Calm down Leo, It'll be fine," Abbey tells him as she heads for the door and motions to one of her Agents. "She's in the car and will be up in a few minutes," she says, as she walks back towards his bed.

TBC

Feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks to those who have been so nice to provide feedback!


	5. Part 5

Part 5

Margaret steps off the elevator and is on her way to find Leo's new room when she notices Secret Service Agents in the hallway and a familiar face sitting nervously in the waiting room. "Zoey," she greets the President's youngest daughter as she walks into the room.

"Margaret," Zoey smiles, as she stands to greet her.

"It's so good to see you," Margaret wraps long arms around the young girl and engulfs her in a huge hug. "You look great. How are you feeling?" Margaret asks, as she steps back a little, after releasing her.

"I'm… fine," Zoey hesitates a little before she smiles, as she sits back down in her chair.

"That's so good to hear," Margaret announces as she sits down in the chair next to her. "I'm sorry I never got a chance to… visit you before you left the White House for New Hampshire," Margaret softly says, as her hands nervously fidget in her lap. She's not sure what to say to her.

"Not many did. Mom sorta took me away pretty quick after I was… after I got back," Zoey slightly frowns. "I never even got to see Un…" Zoey stops herself from referring to Leo as Uncle Leo. She hasn't called him that in a few years. But, right now she feels so young and maybe even a little vulnerable that it almost slipped out.

"He's… missed you," Margaret offers, as she purses her lips in a tight smile.

"Really?" Zoey says in a very shy voice.

"Yes," Margaret pauses, and then asks, "Zoey, why are you sitting out here?" Motioning with her hand to the waiting room.

"Well, I wanted to see Leo, but Mom thought… she should see him first," Zoey explains.

"Mrs. Bartlet is here?"

"Yeah, I was supposed to umm… wait in the car, but I made my agent bring me up here," Zoey shifts uneasily in her chair.

"Why were you supposed to wait in the car?" Margaret asks without really thinking it through.

Zoey gives Margaret a surprised look. She figured that Margaret knows almost everything going on with Leo; at least it always appears that way. "Mom wouldn't let… Leo come to see me and…"

"Oh, Zoey. I'm sorry I asked. I wasn't thinking. I only found out about that yesterday… I mean… that she did that. I knew something had happened between them… but Leo…"

"That's okay. I never knew either until this morning when Mom and I had a long talk," Zoey pauses as she studies the woman next to her. "Margaret, are you okay? You look exhausted."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been… worried about him for some time now," she softly confides.

"It wasn't his fault," Zoey quickly blurts out. "Leo didn't make those men… take me."

"He still blames himself and I can't get him to…" Margaret pauses, afraid that if she continues that she'll break down and Zoey doesn't need that.

"I know he does… but he shouldn't," Zoey shakes her head at her honorary uncle's stubbornness and then looks at Margaret, "Mom told me everything," she says, with a knowing smile.

"Everything?" Margaret lightly gasps.

"Yeah, about his fall, his weight loss, his smoking, his snapping at the staff… and blaming himself for what happened to me."

"Oh, okay," Margaret, breathes a sigh of relief.

"What did you think I meant?" Zoey smiles. Her mom didn't have to tell her some things, because she's suspected for some time now that Margaret's had romantic feelings for Leo. She wishes that things could be different for them, because they both deserve some happiness in their lives.

"Nothing," Margaret slightly blushes.

"Well…. if you're wondering if Mom told me everything you two talked about. I'm sure she didn't. But, I can guess, judging by your reaction," Zoey pauses and gives a nervous looking Margaret a knowing smile, "You're in love with Leo."

"Zoey," Margaret feigns a surprised look.

"Margaret, there's no denying it. Mallory and I have known for some time, now," she confesses.

"You and Mallory?"

"Yes, we've discussed it several times and… you should know that Mallory's fine with it."

Margaret realizes that there's no longer any reason to deny it, "Yeah, she told me on the phone last night."

"Great, so have you told Leo, yet?"

"No," she snorts, "not really."

"You should. Cause I think he loves you, too."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just a hunch, but it's really hard not to miss, once you know it's there. Trust me." Zoey smiles.

"I've never picked up on it. I mean I know he likes me or why else would he put up with me all these years," Margaret sighs.

"Well, he guards it well when he's near you, but I've seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one else is looking."

"I don't know…" Margaret stops, when a Secret Service Agent enters the room.

"Miss Bartlet, you're cleared to enter Mr. McGarry's room," he informs her.

"Okay, thanks. I'll just be a couple more minutes," Zoey tells her agent.

"Okay, Miss Bartlet. Whenever you're ready," the agent replies, then turns quickly and goes back out into the hallway.

Zoey rolls her eyes at her new agent, "I keep telling him to call me Zoey."

"He seems very nice, especially if he let you come into the hospital after your mom told you to wait in the car," Margaret comments.

"He wasn't in the Residence when Mom told me," Zoey softly laughs. "How long do you think I should wait?" Zoey asks, looking at the clock on the wall.

"At least another three to four minutes," Margaret suggests.

"How does he look?" Zoey asks.

"His head looks worse than it is. His face is swollen and bruised, but he's the same Leo," Margaret sighs.

"Mom said he's going to be fine. Is that true?"

"Yes, Zoey. The doctor said he just needs lots of rest and a healthy diet," Margaret reaches over and takes Zoey's hand. "He'll be back to running the White House, soon."

"And I know you'll have him toeing the line, too."

"Yes, I will," she laughs. "There's going to be some new rules for him to follow, and I won't hesitate to go to your father, if he doesn't follow them."

"I just bet you will. Leo's a lucky man to have you. I hope you two find a way to each other," Zoey says, as she stands and prepares herself to go see Leo.

"We'll see," Margaret says, but hopes inside that they do. "I'll wait out here until you're done and please don't rush. I'm sure that Leo's tired of looking at my face," she smiles.

"I somehow doubt that," Zoey says, as she heads for the door.

----------

"Abbey, before Zoey gets here. I umm… wanted to a… well… while I was out… I thought or maybe even dreamed things. I mean it seemed so real. I heard people talking. Can that happen? Was it real?" Leo asks.

"Who did you think you heard?" Abbey raises an eyebrow.

"The President, CJ, and… Margaret," Leo confides.

Abbey smiles when Leo mentions Margaret's name, "Do you remember what they said?"

"Some of it, I think," Leo says in a raspy voice.

"Well, Jed was here last night talking with you and so was CJ and you know that Margaret's been here the whole time."

Leo nods his head.

"So you remember anything that Margaret said?" She asks, hoping that he remembers Margaret's confession of love that she had overhead.

"Yeah, I think I do." Leo nods his head. 'I must, since I remember CJ telling me about the reporter when I was unconscious,' he thinks to himself.

"And?"

"And what?" Leo smirks.

"Are you going to share?" Abbey asks, giving him a pointed look.

"I don't think so," Leo smiles. He's still not sure if it really happened, but he sure wishes it was true.

"You know… Margaret and I had a long talk last night," she informs him, almost implying that she knows what was said.

"About what?" Leo wants to know.

"You," she smiles.

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"And?" He almost growls, growing tired of the run around he's getting from Abbey.

"And what, Leo?" Abbey smirks.

"Okay… okay," Leo shakes his head a little, "I can see that this… is going nowhere," Leo frowns.

"So, what do you think we discussed?"

"I have no idea," Leo grumbles.

"Right. Well, lets just say, that I think you and Margaret need to talk about…" Abbey stops, when she hears the door open. She turns to see her youngest daughter standing in the doorway. "Come on in, Zoey."

Zoey walks over to her mother's side, "Hey, Leo," she says shyly.

Leo looks up at the young girl in front of him, and his eyes grow misty, "Hey, kid," he whispers in return.

Zoey takes a step closer to the bed and scrunches up her face "Oh, Uncle Leo… your head. That's gotta hurt."

"Yeah, it does… a little," he briefly smiles when she calls him Uncle. It's been a while since she's called him that.

"More than a little, I bet," she informs him as she glances at her Mom and then back down at her father's best friend.

"Maybe," he softly says.

Zoey stands there for a few seconds, not sure what to do or say next.

"Zoey, I'm…"

Zoey holds up her hand to interrupts him, "Don't say it. I wasn't your fault. Let's just move on, please." Zoey's eyes plead.

Leo looks at the young woman before him. He's so proud of the person she's become. He's not sure if he'll ever be able to forgive himself for what happened to her, but he knows it's time to move on, at least for Zoey's well-being. "Come're, kid," Leo tells her, as he holds out a hand.

Zoey moves toward him, but ignores his hand, as she gives him a careful hug, "Are you sure you're alright?" She whispers.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Leo whispers back with a voice full of emotions.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he says, as he looks at her as she pulls from his arms. "What is it with you, your Mom, and Margaret," he smirks, as he looks around Zoey and gives Abbey a smile.

"We all love you, Leo. That's what's wrong with us," Zoey giggles.

Leo looks at Zoey and then at her mother, trying to read Abbey's face. Maybe he did hear Margaret tell him that she loves him when he was unconscious.

"I can live with that," Leo grins.

-----------

"Did you enjoy your visit?" Margaret asks, as she walks into Leo's room.

"Yeah, it was nice," he smiles.

"Someone seems to be in a better mood," she says, walking over to his bedside. "Bet, it's nice to be in your own pajamas."

"Yeah, it is and thanks again, for getting them."

"Leo," she hesitates to start up their old conversation.

"Margaret, don't worry about it. I'm going to call my sponsor and start going to meetings again, until… I get past this."

"Okay," she's not really sure that he'll ever stop blaming himself, but at least he's finally willing to call his sponsor. She's not sure if that's enough, but for right now she'll leave it alone.

"So, what'd ya do with the bottle?" He asks, knowing that there was no way that she left it there in his hotel room.

"It's in the trunk of my car," she informs him.

"How long did ya search the rest of my room, looking for… other bottles?" He wonders out loud.

"I didn't check my watch," she shakes her head at him, "but I searched until I was sure there weren't any others."

"You've had some experience with that?" He softly smirks. He knows she used to search his office while he was Labor Sectary.

"Yeah, but none lately, and I better not have to do it again," she quickly points out to him.

"I'll keep that in mind," he returns.

"So," Margaret decides to change the subject, "do you feel up to talking with Mallory? I promised her I'd call her from your room today."

"Yeah," Leo raises his bed up a little.

Margaret walks over to the phone, dials the number and waits, "Hello, umm… hi Mrs. Mc… I mean Je… umm… Mrs. O'Brien." Margaret kicks herself mentally from starting to call her Mrs. McGarry. She has never able to call her Jenny in all the years she's known her. It always seems to stick in her throat. That woman has always rubbed her the wrong way.

Margaret looks down at Leo who is grimacing and he mouths, "Sorry," to her.

"Hello, Margaret, I guess you want to speak with Mallory," the older woman says in a spiteful voice.

"Yes, if she's available," Margaret plays nervously plays with the phone cord.

"She's not here right now, and I don't know when she'll be back. I'll tell her you called."

"Than…" Margaret starts to say, but before she can even continue, Mrs. O'Brien hangs up the phone. She pulls the phone away from her ear and stares at it. It takes every being of her fiber not scream 'BITCH' at the phone. She slowly places the phone back in the cradle. "Mal's not there right now, but she'll have her call when she gets back."

"Yeah," Leo sighs. He knows that his ex-wife was rude to Margaret on the phone. He can tell by the way she's acting and the face that she made while talking with her. "Margaret, sorry about that. She…"

"Leo, stop making excuses for her," Margaret blurts out and then quickly blushes at her boldness.

"I wasn't going to make an excuse… I was just going to tell ya that… she's always been jealous of you," Leo grumbles.

"What? Jealous of me. Whatever for?" Margaret demands, thinking of the woman who had it all and threw it away. Yes, Leo is an alcoholic, and she's sure that Jenny put up with a lot while he was drinking and doing pills, but God he was worth it. Besides, it's an illness and he couldn't help himself. She had watched how it had eaten away at him. He so wanted to be a good husband to Jenny and a good father to Mallory. She knows he still carries the guilt from his failed marriage.

Leo smiles at his assistant, she really has no idea just how beautiful she is and what a special person she is, too. "Well, first off, you're very beautiful," Leo shyly whispers.

"Leo," Margaret gives him a surprised look as she slightly blushes. 'That's twice today that he's said that about me,' she thinks to herself.

"And there's the fact that you stayed longer than just a couple of weeks as my assistant, even though I was… somewhat of a hand full at the time," Leo softly smirks. "In addition, you followed me into the private sector and then into the campaign without ever doubting me. No matter what happened, you stayed by my side and supported me. All of which… drove Jenny absolutely crazy."

"Leo, I'm sorry. I never knew," she whispers.

"Margaret, there's nothing to be sorry about. It wasn't your fault," Leo shifts uncomfortably in his bed. He's not so sure if he should have told her about Jenny's jealously, but decides that since he's being honest with her that maybe he should tell her how he feels. "Margaret, I need to tell ya something… I umm…. well ya see…. I think that…"

Leo doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because his phone starts ringing. Margaret jumps up to answer it, "Hello, Leo McGarry's off… I mean room," she shakes her head at her mistake.

"Hey, Margaret, little confused there are we," Josh laughs.

"Yeah, it's been a long couple of days," she sighs.

"Year, I bet it has. I hear Leo's doing a lot better and is out of the ICU, now."

"Yes, he's doing much better."

"Margaret, I need to quickly talk to him about something. Do you think he's up to it?" Josh cautiously asks, hoping that Margaret doesn't yell at him for bothering Leo in the Hospital.

"No, that's fine. Here he is," Margaret puts her hand over the phone. "It's Josh, there's something he needs to talk to you about. I'm going to ah… step out for a minute."

"Okay," Leo says, as he takes the phone from her slender hand. "Hey, Josh what do ya need?"

"Well, first off, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Josh," Leo sighs into the phone. He's starting to get a little tired of everyone's concern.

"Yeah, well I was out there to see you last night and you didn't look very fine then," Josh informs him.

"I'm a quick healer," Leo smirks. "So, what's up?"

Josh tells him about a situation that is going on at the White House and Leo tells him who to call and what to say. Leo doesn't say anything, but he knows that Josh knew what to do and was just using this as an excuse to call him and check up on him. 'He's so like me,' he thinks to himself when it comes to showing people how you feel about them. Leo hangs up the phone and lays his bed back down and closes his eyes. Truth be told, he's more than a little tired. The whole thing with Margaret and the bottle and then Abbey and Zoey, has worn him out. Within a couple of minutes, he's fast asleep.

Margaret walks back into the room and is surprised, but happy to find Leo asleep. She sits down in the reclining chair that Abbey had them put in Leo's private room and soon falls asleep, too.

----------

Leo opens his eyes when he hears the thunderous footsteps coming down the hall. He smiles knowing that they're about to get a visit from the President.

"Margaret, we're about to get a visitor," Leo says as he adjusts his bed, so that he's sitting up.

"Huh," a bleary eyed Margaret says as Ron appears in his room and does a quick sweep and then gives the all clear into his wrist mic.

"Ron," Leo says, with a small grin.

"Leo," Ron nods his head.

"So, ya couldn't keep him away huh?" Leo smirks, as he watches Margaret fight with the recliner, trying to get up.

Ron shakes his head, "Didn't even try this time." He informs Leo with a tight-lipped smile as he stands stiffly against the wall.

"Leo," the loud voice booms from the doorway. "So, Margaret. How's the worst patient in the world doing today?" The President asks, moving over to her.

"He's doing much better, Sir." Margaret informs him.

"Are you making sure he's following orders?"

"Well, he can't really get away with too much, here in the hospital, Sir." She smiles, and then looks over at Leo who is rolling his eyes. "I think I'll go grab some dinner, Mr. President and leave you two alone to visit," Margaret says, as she quickly flees the room.

"Mr. President, you'll pardon me if I don't stand," Leo says, holding up his arm with the IV in it.

"Don't you dare even try," Jed orders, as he walks over to Leo's bedside. "You're not supposed to be doing much, from what I hear."

"Have you been talking to Margaret or to Abbey?" Leo asks, in a gruff voice. It really doesn't matter which one, cause both of them would tell the President everything. "They won't even let me get up and go to the bathroom by myself yet," he announces with disgust as he throws his hands up in the air.

"Leo, what do you expect after the stunt you pulled in your office yesterday?" Jed informs his long time best friend. His friend… who has sacrificed so much for him get him elected as President and then sacrificed even more to keep the wheels from coming off.

"Yeah… well… I still say I tripped. I got my feet caught up…" He tries to explain, but is interrupted.

"Leo," Jed growls. "What about your twenty pound weight loss, the fact that you were severely dehydrated and that your blood pressure was very low? And the fact that you were unconscious for several hours."

"Okay, okay," he reluctantly yields. "So maybe I did pass out… but that's still no reason to…"

"It's every reason in the world my old friend," Jed says, as he lays his hand on Leo's arm. "It means it's time for you to slow down before you… kill yourself," Jed's eyes show his deep concern as his voice grows serious.

"I'm fine, Sir," he softly replies. "Really I am."

"Leo, I'd have to say that… judging by your present surroundings," Jed motions around the room with his hand, "that you're not fine." Jed quickly points out.

"Yeah, well… maybe. But look… I'll be fine, Sir. I'll be back to work in a couple of days," he informs Jed.

"Leo," Jed almost shouts. "You will not be coming back to work in a couple of days. From what Abbey says, you'll just be getting out of here in a couple of days that is if you're lucky."

"Great, we haven't been lucky since Super Tuesday," Leo reminds his best friend.

"Leo." The President pronounces every syllable.

"But Sir, I think Abbey and the other doctors are making way too much out of this. I was just tired and…"

"And I think you're not taking this as seriously as you should," Jed tersely says and then takes a deep breath before he continues. "Leo, I can't do this without you, but you need to slow down. And you're gonna, even if I have to force you to. So… as of right now you're on sick leave until further notice."

"What?" He brusquely asks. "Sir, you can't do that."

"I can, and I am. You're going to take time off whether you like it or not. And I mean a vacation. As in… away from DC, somewhere that all there is to do is relax."

"Sir, you can't be serious."

"Leo, you scared the hell out of Margaret and all the rest of us too." He quickly snaps back at his friend.

Leo lowers his eyes, "Yeah, I suspected that by the way she's been hovering over me," he softly admits.

"Abbey was the first one to get here to the hospital after they bought you in and Margaret was… let's just say… she was a mess. She even yelled at Abbey, that's how scared she was," the President informs him.

"What?" Leo furrows his brow. He can't believe that Margaret would do that. She might get deservedly lippy with him sometimes, but never with the First Lady or the President.

"And… don't you dare say a thing to her about it," the President practically yells at his friend. "She was totally distraught and not thinking straight," he pauses and then softly continues. "You know… you really don't deserve her."

"I… know," Leo agrees, as he calms down.

"So my friend, you're going to take a vacation and I'm going to send Margaret along with you to make sure you follow my orders," he announces with a smile, very pleased with himself for coming up with such a great idea.

Leo feels really bad about scaring Margaret the way he did. She's been by his side at the hospital ever since he was admitted and she's looking almost as haggard as he is. She could use a vacation, too. The prospect of them going away together really appeals to him. He'd almost told her that he loves her this afternoon.

"Fine, be that way," he offhandedly says, trying to hide his excitement about taking a vacation with Margaret.

"Glad to see you finally see it my way," he laughs, knowing that there has to be a reason behind Leo's sudden change in demeanor. He thinks back to what was just said and realizes that Leo calmed down immediately after Margaret's name was mentioned.

"So, do ya have any idea where I'm going on vacation?" Leo asks, with a smirk of a grin.

"I think I'll leave that up to Margaret," Jed smiles. "I know how she hates it when you make your own schedule changes."

"Yeah, she does like to keep me in line." Leo quickly agrees.

"Yes she does," Jed agrees and then changes the subject. "Leo, I was serious about what I said earlier, you need to slow down but more importantly… you need to get yourself a life outside the White House."

"Yes he does, Mr. President," says the voice from the door.

Both men turn toward the voice, "Margaret," the President turns and greets her. "That was a quick dinner."

"I forgot my purse," she says, pointing to it on the floor. "Is he giving you trouble, Mr. President?" She smiles knowingly.

"Nothing that I can't handle, Margaret," he laughs.

Margaret walks in the rest of the way and over to Leo's bedside, "I forgot to ask before I left. How's your head? Do you still have a headache? Do you need anything before I go?" She rattles off as she fluffs his pillow.

"Margaret, stop fussing, I'm fine," Leo rolls his eyes.

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit," she walks over and gets her purse.

"Margaret, take your time. Leo and I have a lot of catching up to do," the President smiles as he looks down at Leo and sees him glowing happily from her attention. The President watches Leo's eyes follow Margaret as she makes her way back out the door and to her dinner. "Like I said before… you really don't deserve her."

"Yeah," Leo says as he turns his attention back to the President.

TBC

Feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks to those who have been so nice to provide feedback!


	6. Part 6

Part 6

Margaret comes back about an hour later and finds Leo working on a crossword puzzle. "Did you two have a nice visit?"

"Yeah," he smiles softly, and looks up at her over the top of his glasses.

"Good," Margaret moves over to the chair next to his bed and sets her purse down and then walks over to his bedside. "Do you need anything?"

"Yeah," Leo says as he thinks that must be the tenth time today she's asked him that same question. He puts down his puzzle and tells her, "I need for you to go home," he says in a very even tone.

Margaret stares at him, once again, like he's just grown another head, "Leo, I don't mind staying."

"I know you don't mind, and I really do appreciate it and I'm very grateful for everything that you've done for me, but… you need your rest, too. Besides, I need you to go to work tomorrow and make sure that Josh doesn't do anything stupid." He grins.

"Leo, I really don't mind staying and…"

"Margaret," Leo growls. "Go home, please."

Margaret looks at her watch, "It's still early. I could stay and keep you company for a while."

"Margaret, don't you have a life?" He smirks as he shakes his head.

"No… not really," she softly laughs, "I work for Leo McGarry and I kinda like it that way."

"Yeah," Leo breathes out in a hushed voice.

"Yeah. So… do you want me to try to get Mallory on the phone again for you? She's probably back at the hotel by now," she comments after she looks at her watch.

"Okay, but as soon as you dial, hand me the phone this time, okay?" He doesn't want Margaret to have to put up with Jenny again today or really any other time, too.

"Okay." Margaret picks up the phone, dials the number, and hands the phone to Leo and then steps out of the room to give him some privacy.

"Hey Baby," Leo smiles into the phone, after his daughter answers it.

"Daddy, it's so good to hear your voice. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, there's no reason to worry."

"Well, I doubt that," she wonders out loud, as she sits down on her bed, thankful that her mom is out.

"Mallory," he father grumbles.

"Are you behaving yourself, Daddy?"

"Yeah. Margaret is watching me like a hawk."

"I just bet she is," Mallory softly laughs.

"Do you know she's been here since I was admitted? I've been trying to get her to go home, but…"

"Yeah, well… good luck with that," Mallory says, knowing that Margaret isn't going anywhere while her father is in the hospital.

"Yeah, she can be very stubborn."

"Well, I'm sure it comes from working for you all those years," Mallory softly laughs.

"Ya know, I had an opportunity to give you up for adoption," Leo smiles as he teases her.

"Yeah yeah, I think you've mentioned that before," Mallory giggles. "You know, you two are so alike."

"Yeah," Leo exhales, as he then thinks about his Margaret. "I guess so.

"Daddy," Mallory says, after a couple of seconds of silence.

"Yeah?"

"I love you," she whispers.

"I love you too, Baby," Leo's voice is full of emotion.

"Daddy, are you going to slow down and take care of yourself, now?"

"Well between you, the President, Abbey and Margaret, I don't seem to have a choice," Leo shakes his head. "You're not going to believe what the President is making me do."

"What?"

"He's forcing me to take a vacation."

"Really… as in you're not at work for several days in a row?" Mallory snickers into the phone.

"He's even making me go somewhere, too. Which, by the way, I'm not sure that he can legally do," Leo huffs.

"Well… he is the President, Daddy," Mallory points out.

"Yeah. Thank you for reminding me of that, but you're a little late cause he's already pointed that out to me at least once tonight," Leo sighs.

"So, where are you going on your vacation?"

"I don't know, he's going to put Margaret in charge of that, plus he's going to have her go along with me and make sure that I relax," Leo tries his best to sound unhappy about this.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sure she's going to hate it."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. You two deserve a break, and I know that…" Mallory stops. She decides that it's probably best if she stays out of her father's personal life. She wants to tell him that Margaret loves him, but decides against it at the last second.

"You know what?" Leo asks.

"Oh nothing, Daddy."

"Okay."

"So when are you leaving?"

"I have no idea. I still have to get out of this place first," he grumbles.

"Daddy, listen to the doctors and Margaret, please," she pleads with her father.

"I will, Baby."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise. So, are ya having a nice trip?"

"Yes, but I can't wait to get home and see you."

"Baby, is everything okay?"

"Yes, just the normal stuff," Mallory says, knowing that her father will know what she's talking about.

"Okay, well. I'll talk to ya tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll call you. Margaret called earlier and gave me the number."

"What would I do without her," Leo smiles.

"I hope you never have to find out."

"Me either. Bye, Baby," Leo softly says.

"Bye, Daddy."

Leo stares at the phone for a few seconds and then reaches over and lays it back on the table next to his bed. He picks up his crossword puzzle and tries to work on it, but he just winds up staring at it. He can't get his mind off Margaret.

----------

"How's Mal?" Margaret asks, after she enters his room.

"She's good."

"Is she having a good time on her trip?"

"Yeah," Leo looks up at his assistant.

"Good."

"Yeah."

"Do you want to watch some TV?"

"Nah," he shakes his head.

"Okay," Margaret walks over to the chair next to his bed and sits down.

"Margaret?" Leo asks in a soft voice.

"Yeah?" Margaret scoots to the edge of her chair ready to jump up and get him whatever he needs.

"Nothing…" Leo sighs, deciding that he's still too afraid to confess his love to her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

They spend the rest of the evening talking quietly and sometimes just enjoying the comfortable silence between them. Leo drifts off to sleep right after the evening news. Margaret turns off the light over his bed and then grabs the blanket off the back of the recliner, snuggles under it and is soon fast asleep in the recliner, too.

----------

Leo wakes and sighs when he sees Margaret curled up asleep in the reclining chair. "Margaret," Leo waits a little bit. "Margaret." He says a little louder.

"Yeah," she yawns and stretches, while looking at her watch to see what time it is.

"I thought you were supposed to go home last night."

"Well…" she tries to think of a good reason why she stayed.

"Well?"

"I guess I better get going if I'm going to keep Josh from running the country into the ground," she says, as she gets up. She needs to hurry if she wants to get home and have a quick shower before going to the office.

"Why don't you go home and sleep some and then go into work this afternoon," Leo offers.

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm used to long hours."

"Sorry, bout that."

"Leo, I like my job."

"But still…"

"Well… I'll see you tonight."

"Margaret you don't have to spend all your free time here."

"I know I don't need to, but I want to, besides, I can fill you in about what's happening at the White House," she smiles.

"Okay," Leo grins.

"See you later."

"Yeah, see ya," Leo says, as he watches her leave his room. He relaxes in bed and drifts off to sleep again dreaming about his Margaret.

----------

Leo spends most of the day sleeping, watching CNN and working the crossword puzzle book that Margaret picked up for him in the hospital gift shop. He's now allowed to get out of bed on his own and has even taken a couple of walks around the floor. He's sitting in a chair, working on a puzzle when Margaret shows up after dinner.

"Hey there," she says, after standing unnoticed in the doorway for a while watching him. Even with some of his head shaved and the swelling and bruising, he's still a very attractive man. "It's good to see you out of bed."

"Yeah. I've even been for a couple of walks," he proudly announces, as he stands and walks over to his bed, giving Margaret his chair.

"Good. So, how are you feeling?"

"My headache is finally gone."

"You look much better too. You have some color back in your face." She informs him, as she walks over and sits down next to him.

"Yeah, black and blue with a tinge of yellow," he laughs.

"That's not what I meant," she smiles. She's glad to see him in a good mood.

"I know," he gives her a dimpled grin. "The doctor says that I'll probably get to go home tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well… he did mention one little condition, though," he admits.

"And what was that?"

"That I have someone stay with me for a couple of days. He gave me a list of some companies that provide those types of services, but I was wondering… well if…"

"Where are the numbers, Leo? I can give them a call and set something up for you," she sighs.

"Ah… well thanks, but I was kinda hoping that well… I really don't want just anybody staying with me. So I was thinking that… maybe you'd be able to ah… come stay with me. But, if you'd rather not, that's fine too."

"No," Margaret says quickly and with some force. "I can stay with you. I just assumed that you'd want me to call one of those places since you mentioned them."

"I'd rather it be you," Leo almost whispers.

"Okay," she says, as she bobs her head.

"Good," he flashes her a lighthearted grin. "So, how was your day? Did Josh drive you crazy?"

Margaret nervously laughs, "No, he was fine, but…"

"But what?"

"The President called me into his office today."

"He did, did he?" Leo raises an eyebrow and inwardly smiles because he knows what's coming next.

"Yeah, he had me… well he made me clear your schedule for the next two weeks," Margaret cringes waiting for his infamous temper to show.

"What?" Leo growls, in mock anger.

Margaret decides to tell him the rest of it, "And… you're to take a vacation, too."

"A vacation, whose stupid ass idea was that?"

"The President's," Margaret replies.

"He can't make me take a vacation."

"I think he can, and he is adamant that you're going on a two week vacation, so get over it," she says forcibly, getting tired of his attitude.

"Get over it?" Leo growls.

"Yes, now where do you want me to book your vacation to?" She says very matter of factly.

"Vacation?"

"Yes, Leo, you might as well get used to the idea, because you're going on vacation even if I have to personally put your butt on the plane."

"Margaret?"

"Yes."

"I heard you," he softly informs her.

"Well, I hope so, Leo. Because I'm sitting right here next to you," she points out.

"No, I mean… earlier… before… I heard ya."

Margaret heart skips a beat, because she has a sinking feeling she knows what he's referring to. Abbey had said that sometimes patients wake up and they can tell you everything that been said in their room while they were unconscious. "You mean about you taking a vacation?" She tries to distract him as she pulls on the hem of her skirt.

"No, I heard you when I was… out. I know that you… love me," he whispers as he watches her carefully.

"Oh… I umm… I'll understand if you umm… well I think the best thing for me to do is quit." She finally manages to get out, as her eyes go misty with tears.

"Quit? What are you talking about?" Leo huffs.

"Yes, I don't want to make you uncomfortable because of..."

"Margaret, I'm not uncomfortable and I don't want you to quit."

"Are you sure?"

Leo shakes his head; he's not making himself clear. "Margaret, I don't want you to quit as a matter of fact, I… want ya to go on vacation with me," he smiles.

"With you?"

"Yes, you see I think… that is well I know that… you see I…think… oh holly hell Margaret. I'm trying to tell ya that I love ya too, and I want to ah…"

"Date?"

"God, I hate that word." He grumbles.

"Go out? Court? Woo?"

"Margaret," Leo growls. "I want us to be… together. I want you in my future. I want you by my side… always… forever."

"You mean get married?" She whispers.

"Yes… eventually, if that's what we both want," he looks into her eyes imploring her to want it too.

"I'd like that too," she smiles in agreement, seeing that he wants her.

"Then come here, you," Leo's voice goes low, as he reaches out a hand to her.

Margaret moves over to Leo's bedside. He pats the bed next to him and she sits down, but not close enough for his liking. Leo takes a hold of her hand and gently squeezes.

"Come closer, please," he whispers.

Margaret scoots closer to him, and then leans over towards Leo who gently traces her jaw line with his fingertips and then runs his hand behind her head, gently pulling her closer to him. Their lips are almost touching, "Margaret, I love you."

"I love you, too Leo," her thoughts are only of him and his comfort even in this moment she has waited years for. "Are you comfortable? Does this position hurt your head? Are you…"

"Margaret," Leo groans, "Shuddup and kiss me," he mumbles as he lightly presses his lips to hers and they share their first kiss.

"Leo, I've wanted this for years," Margaret sighs, as she pulls away a little from his lips.

"Me too," Leo agrees as he pulls her in for another kiss. This one quickly turns more passionate as they kiss and lovingly explore each other's mouths for several moments until they finally come up for air.

"So, where do you want to go," Margaret coos into his ear.

Leo gives her a puzzled look, "Margaret we can't… I mean… I want to… but we're in a hospital and…"

"No, silly," She softly laughs, as she runs her fingers down his chest. "I meant where do you want to go on vacation?" She starts kissing his neck.

"Anywhere ya want to," he murmurs as she continues to assault his neck.

"A vacation. Like as in a real vacation. Where we get on a plane, stay at a hotel and don't any work… kind of vacation," she whispers.

"Yeah Margaret, a real vacation," he softly laughs, as he pulls her close to him and they slide down in the bed.

"I don't know where to go. I haven't been on a vacation in years," she says as she snuggles against him.

"Me either," he kisses her forehead and then makes his way down to her lips, applying light delicate kisses as he goes.

"I definitely want to go somewhere warm with a secluded beach far, far away from here," she informs him, just before his lips capture hers for another long passionate kiss.

"Whatever you decide, Margaret, is fine with me," he mumbles as he slowly pulls his lips from hers. "But, I'm paying for everything," he quickly informs her with an impish smirk.

"We'll see about that," she seductively whispers, as she plays with the buttons on his pajama top.

"Margaret," Leo growls in a low voice. "The matter's not up for debate. We are doing this by Presidential order and you will be my guest," he says, as he brings a hand up and caresses her cheek.

"Leo, if I've learned one thing from working with you all these years is that everything is up for debate," she breathes against his neck before delivering a series of light kisses.

"We'll see," he replies with a small laugh from both her kisses and her standing up to him, as he continues to trace her neckline with the tips of his fingers.

"Yes, we'll see," she returns, walking her fingers down his chest.

"Margaret Elaine McGuire," he moans, as her hand continues to travel further south.

"What?" She softly laughs, as she stops and toys with the elastic waist of his pajamas, trying to distract him from the who's paying for the vacation topic.

"I love you," he whispers, as he takes her hand, pulls it up to his mouth, kisses it and then lays it on his chest. "But, I'm still paying for everything," he softly laughs as he pulls in for another kiss.

The End.

Thanks to all of you who provided feedback. I had several people commenting about looking forward to reading about what happens on their vacation. But, I had always planned to end this story in the hospital. However, if I get enough requests, I would consider writing a sequel.


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